Mahou Sensei Kain! Act 11!
by Chris-Sasami-Bunny
Summary: Yue! An Otome! How exciting, but she doesn't know who she is... Who else will we find in the magic realm this time... Read and see.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Prologue

Momo continued her practice swings. Such activities had always been great ways to lose herself and shut down her thoughts, but right now, there was simply too much on her mind. It was great that she had recovered, but what about everyone else? She couldn't stop thinking about Mai, Kain, Kagome, Hinagiku, and all the rest….

"It seems like you're feeling better, Momo. It's good to see you up."

Momo started, almost dropping her _shinai_. She turned to stare at the girl who had silently approached her. She was Momo's size, and almost could have been her sister—she was not the odd-colored look-alike Sakura had been, but her short, somewhat messy black hair with the long bangs and dark brown eyes, as well as their similarities in size, put them in a similar vein. Her dress, however, was what really set her apart—while dressed in the usual _shihakushô_ ,she also wore an armband with the characters for 13 on it, along with long white gloves.

"Kuchiki- _fukutaichô_ …" Momo murmured in recognition.

This address elicited an unusual reaction from the other girl. She leapt forward and lunged out with a hand, delivering a soft but sharp karate chop to Momo's head. As Momo bent down, clutching at the injury, the other girl stood straight, crossed her arms, and authoritatively declared, "Rukia, Momo. I've told you—it's Ru-ki-a. You don't have to be formal at all with me, and I hate it anyway. After all, we are old classmates, aren't we?

Classmates, yes…Momo, Rukia, Renji Abarai and Izuru Kira had all entered the Soul Reaper Academy at the same time. While Momo, Renji, and Izuru had all been in the 'A' course—the elites—Rukia had only been a member of the 'B' course. Throughout her schooling, and even after she was adopted by the Kuchiki family and had graduated, she had been unsure of herself, easily discouraged, and seemed to flag at times. Then, finally, she had ended up as, essentially, a pawn in the secret struggle between Kisuke Urahara and Sôsuke Aizen for the fate of the Soul Society….

Momo remembered the words that her phantom captain had said to her back during the tournament, about Rukia Kuchiki. She smiled slightly as she thought about how their positions had reversed…Momo Hinamori, one of the elite, a girl groomed specifically to be lieutenant of one of the Gotei 13's top captains, had fallen off and forsaken her officer status, while the girl who had dwelled under the weight of unfulfilled expectations and performed well under her level had found her resolve and finally taken on the long-vacant lieutenant's seat in her own company.

"I'm sorry, Rukia," Momo finally managed. "Um…did you want something?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, nothing really…well, to be honest I wanted to hear some stories about Kain Lockeheart when you got back, but I guess it's not really the time, is it?" She noticed Momo's face beginning to fall, and quickly began, "Oh, no, I mean, I'm sorry, but don't worry about it! Kain Lockeheart will be fine, right? I mean, after all, he is _his_ son…."

"Y-yeah," Momo agreed, trying to put on a brave face. "He is…and I know just how…strong he is, and all…."

"Ah, Rukia- _chan_ , are you picking on Momo? She's still trying to recover, you know…."

"I-I'm not picking on her!"

"I-I'm fine, Hirako- _taichô_!"

The two girls yelled in unison at the approaching captain. Shinji Hirako grinned his piano-keyboard grin as he came up to the two young ladies. "Well, from what we've been able to pick out of the news of Arcanus Myrror, he's been doing pretty well for himself over the past two months…."

Momo started. She stared at Shinji in wide-eyed disbelief. "T-two months!? What do you mean!? I-it should only be three days since we were scattered…unless you lied to me when you told me how long I'd been out…."

"No, we didn't lie," Shinji assured her, growing more serious. "We just got the report from 12th Company. Mayuri's having a field day with this research. Because the Obsidian Star pretty much completely cut off Arcanus Myrror from Earth, it's caused a distortion in time…more specifically, a time compression similar to, but not quite as severe, as that of the Precipice World. Three days have passed for us since the accident, but a full two months have already passed in Arcanus Myrror. Similarly, on Earth, only three days have passed. We don't know whether this is part of the Obsidian Star's plot or not, but this time compression is almost certainly to their advantage…."

Momo turned and began to rush off. "Wait!" Shinji called after her. "Where are you going, Momo?"

Momo stopped and glanced back over her shoulder. "I've got to go back! I've already wasted too much time, and I've recovered now! I have to go help them! I have to help Kain fight the Obsidian Star…and there are the rest of my classmates, too! They all need me!"

"Slow down!" Shinji insisted, motioning her back. "How are you going to do anything right now? With this time compression and everything, it's not impossible to go back to Arcanus Myrror—probably—but it's going to be difficult, at least. And with this big of a potential emergency, is an unseated _shinigami_ going to be given preferential treatment and appointed to such an important task?"

Momo's face fell. "B-but…!"

"Quite simply, it's obvious that an unseated _shinigami_ couldn't possibly be of use in this kind of emergency," Shinji continued with rather extreme (for him) seriousness. "However," he continued in his more normal lazy tones, "there wouldn't be any problem with a highly-seated officer participating in the captain's meeting about this emergency and probably being appointed to our response team, particularly one who was acquainted with the situation…."

Momo stared at him. For the first time she noticed the small wooden box he was carrying in one arm near his waist. "Hirako… _taichô_ …?"

Shinji coughed. "I've gone twenty long years without a lieutenant," he continued. "I mean, I had a soldier who was perfectly qualified, but didn't feel emotionally worthy of the rank. However, after all this time…I think she might be ready to take up the role that's been waiting for her." He finally presented the box, opening it and showing the lieutenant's badge for 5th Company. "You've had a long time to recover, Momo. To be honest, I know it'd be better with a proper ceremony, and I know your old friends Renji- _kun_ and Izuru- _kun_ would probably like to be the ones to present it, but as you've noted, we're pressed for time. Do you feel you're ready to take the role of lieutenant—and face the Obsidian Star?"

As Momo stared silently at the badge, a thousand thoughts and feelings and memories churning in her, Rukia broke the spell by chuckling slightly and adding aloud, "Circumstances aside, Hirako- _taichô_ really wants you to be his lieutenant so he'll finally have someone to do his paperwork for him and he can take it easy."

Momo giggled in reply as Shinji shot her a glare. "Yes…for so long…that position was just…just part of the bad memory…but one of the things I've done recently, is come to peace with that." Momo reached out and took the proffered badge from its case. "I've already resolved to stop running from the past. Now all I can do is face the future and do my best."

Shinji nodded and clicked the box shut as she wrapped the armband around her right arm. "Now, then…we've put it off long enough. The old man's already called for a meeting of the captains and lieutenants to discuss this emergency. I'll send word that we're ready…and that I've already got you en route, Rukia- _chan_ , so that your captain will know you're on the way…."

8-8-8

The Soul Reapers assembled themselves in their usual fashion…at their head, at the back of the chamber, was an old man, with his _haori_ adorning his shoulders more like a cloak, and a great knobbed walking stick in his hands, point resting on the floor in front of him. Flanking him was a man with light eyes and grey hair, and a carefully-groomed tiny mustache, with a white coat similar to a captain's coat but of less material on him.

To the old man's right were the even company numbers, and on his left the odd company numbers. They were lined up in numerical order, the two columns facing each other, the _haori-_ adorned captains in front and their lieutenants behind them. There was one anomaly—the third captain on the old man's right was absent, and only his lieutenant, he of the bright red pineapple-like hair, headband, and symmetrical tattoos, was present.

The old man slammed his stick onto the ground. "I shall be brief, for right now time is of the essence. We have received the reports of 12th Company, and the testimonies of involved _hinigami_. According to our intelligence, the magic world is facing an unprecedented crisis—completely cut off from the world of the living, it is undergoing time compression, all as part of the plan of the Obsidian Star, and the effects are even worse besides. Even now, other worlds of magic are on the brink of collapsing into Arcanus Myrror, and the Earth will likewise be pulled into this catastrophe in a short period of time.

"Normally the role of the Gotei 13 is to handle the residual spirits of the two worlds and keep out of the affairs of the living races, but this crisis is a tremendous threat to the balance of these worlds and Soul Society as well. Therefore, we must take immediate action.

"According to the witness of new 5th Company Lieutenant Hinamori Momo, the Obsidian Star has returned and is most certainly the group behind this crisis. Her recent companions on her special assignment to Earth have already become involved in this as well, including Kain Lockeheart, son of Kalan Lockeheart, called by the humans the Grand Archmage, who saved not only Arcanus Myrror but even our Soul Society twenty years ago. The Gotei 13 do not forget their debts, and for the sake of Kalan Lockeheart, we acknowledge that the fate of his son, Kain Lockeheart, is our concern and his safety and well-being our priority as well. While our first objective is to prevent the collapse of these worlds, the support of Kain Lockeheart is likewise an important agenda.

"For these reasons, we will need to send a team of our most powerful _hinigami_ to Arcanus Myrror to join with Kain Lockeheart and assist him and any involved parties in battling the Obsidian Star. Captain of the 6th Company, Kuchiki Byakuya, is already on Arcanus Myrror, investigating the fate of Kain Lockeheart. Captain of the 8th Company, Kyôraku Shunsui, is appointed the task of assembling a team of captains and other top-class officers for this mission, which includes joining up with Kuchiki- _taichô_. Select your team and make preparations quickly, Kyôraku- _taichô_."

The named captain, standing to the right of the empty space, sighed and adjusted his wide-brimmed straw hat (Asian). Besides this unique accoutrement, the captain wore a flowery pink _kimono_ over even his _haori_ and had his long hair tied in a ponytail and adorned with expensive-looking hairpins. "So it's finally that time, eh? Very well. For this time, I'll need: Captain of 5th Company, Hirako Shinji, and his new lieutenant, Hinamori Momo. Lieutenant of 6th Company, Abarai Renji. Captain of 10th Company, Hitsugaya Tôshirô, and his lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku. Captain of 11th Company, Zaraki Kenpachi, Lieutenant Kusajishi Yachiru, 3rd Seat Madarame Ikkaku and 5th Seat Asegawa Yumichika. And finally, Captain of 13th Company, Ukitake Jûshirô, and his lieutenant, Kuchiki Rukia. That will be my strike team."

"Very well." The old man slammed his stick again. "The 12th Company has completed the _Senkaimon_ that will penetrate the time compression and reach Arcanus Myrror, yes? Then make your preparations quickly. You depart in one hour! Dismissed!"

With that the Soul Reapers all turned and dutifully strode out of the room, most of them blank-faced, but some adorned with eagerness and others with anticipation. The seeds sown by Kalan Lockeheart long before would prove to be among the most important to undoing the work of the Obsidian Star….

F I N

 _Author's Note: The Soul Society Moves_

 _One of the more enjoyable advancements of the Bleach manga has revolved around Ichigo's position in the Soul Society. The Soul Society was shown from the get-go to be a level of Lawful Stupid, overly concerned with their law and utterly rejecting of anything that disrupted the status quo. And so, with the various conditions and problems surrounding Ichigo Kurosaki, many of us always suspected that the Soul Society would just be looking for excuses to get rid of him. After all, we've seen similar kinds of situations in all sorts of other media, from the Green Lantern's Guardians of Oa to Danzo and the Konoha elders of Naruto._

 _However, from the beginning of the Time Jump Arc, and even before that, the Soul Reapers, at least, have shown total acceptance of Ichigo from the time that Aizen betrays them (except in many of the stupid anime-only filler arcs and movie plotlines). They acknowledge yet accept his hollowfication, they go out of their way to restore his powers rather than condemn him when the rogue substitute Soul Reaper and his Fullbringer minions make their move, and they rely on him when the Quincies attack. It's been rather heartwarming, really, and I wanted the same image of acceptance around Kalan Lockeheart and his progeny here. So, this intro was there to show how Soul Society is taking this matter: with all proper seriousness._

 _I could introduce a few of the Soul Reapers here…Shinji Hirako and Rukia Kuchiki especially, of course, but since most of my readers are well aware of them, I'll forego that for now. I'd just like to reiterate that, except for the necessary changes that I made to work Momo into the main story and revolve everything around Kalan, they are all very much like they are in the Bleach universe itself._

 _So, Soul Society is shown here, but the Act is Yue's….so let's get on with it!_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter One: Mahô Shojô Yue, Part 1: Beauty in the School

Yue winced slightly as the woman in the chair—short brown hair, wearing a white doctor's coat—pointed the wand-like object at her, putting it near the bruise on her forehead. There was a glow of energy, and the screen connected to the wand by the cord lit up and began displaying its information. After a few seconds, the message read: 'Scan Completed. No Anomalies Found.'

"As I thought," the nurse said. "It's just some temporary memory loss due to the blow to your head. If you give it a while, your memories should return."

"Thank you, _Sensei_ ," Yue murmured.

The two girls standing behind Yue, both dressed in very elaborate dresses of dark pink, assumed different expressions from this news. The one on Yue's left, the slightly taller girl with the brown hair in long, thin braids and the blue eyes, seemed rather relieved and excited by this information. The girl next to her, obviously bigger-busted, with the long light purple/silver hair and the dark eyes, seemed more dubious and skeptical about this. "So, Yue- _chan_ 's head is all better, Yôko- _sensei_!?" the brunette insisted excitedly. "She'll regain all her memories besides just her name, right!?"

"Well," Yôko answered carefully, "not so fast, Arika- _chan_.We can't rule out the possibility that memory-erasure magic was used. Normally, Shiho- _chan_ could figure that out easily-enough, but…."

"Yes, Yue- _chan_ is blank on that score." The purple-haired girl stepped forward and gently put a hand on Yue's head. "Usually my Psychometry can determine the use of a magic like that easily, but something about this…condition has been blocked. I can't read anything on Yue- _chan_. Doing that much…requires some pretty significant magic…."

Arika's easy-to-read-face bespoke both guilty worry and bewilderment equally. Yue couldn't see it, but Yôko and Shiho seemed to ignore her trepidation, and Yôko continued, "In any case, with Shiho- _chan_ 's powers bound in this case, we're left to normal means to try and determine your identity, but we couldn't find anything in any of the usual places…as Garderobe Academy is world-famous, we have access to public files from Grandall, Dalkia, Halteese, Wind Bloom, and even Avalon in situations like these, but we couldn't find anything. Something significant must have happened to have brought you here…."

"It's certainly a remarkable situation."

The entire room turned as the door was opened and another girl, younger than the others, was wheeled into the room. The tiny girl in the exquisite, expansive white wheelchair had purple hair, darker than Shiho's but still not very dark, and teal-colored eyes that seemed to Yue to possess an inordinate amount of light and wisdom. She was dressed in a rather plain light-blue dress, and seemed quite fragile indeed. She was being pushed by a tall and busty woman who nonetheless possessed a cheerful, girlish face, adorned by short dark pink hair (slightly lighter than that of Arika's and Shiho's uniforms) and wearing a maid outfit with white and a pink of nearly the same shade.

"Ah, Mashiro _-sama_ ," Yôko greeted the girl. "So, you've come to see our visitor…?"

Mashiro smiled at Yôko, then turned her attention to Yue. "It must be difficult for you, seeing that you can't recall anything other than your own name, but please, be at ease, Yue. This is Garderobe Academy, jewel of Wind Bloom, the world's largest, most autonomous place of education, nearly a city of its own within a nation that is of itself independent and subservient to no other nation, not even the great three. Until your memory returns, or we can positively confirm your identity, you are free to remain here with us."

"Ah…" Yue began. "Thank you…."

Mashiro chuckled slightly. "Well, it is rather convenient that Arika found you…she has been rather depressed about not having a roommate. Perhaps we might find you your own room, but…."

"Ah, no, Mashiro _-sama_!" Arika burst out insistently. "I'll definitely take care of Yue- _chan_ until she regains her memory, so of course she has to stay in my room!"

"Oh, how determined!" Yôko declared in mock surprise. "Well, if you really insist, Arika- _chan_ …."

"Of course!" Arika declared, throwing an arm around Yue's shoulders. "We've gotten to be really close friends over these past two days, right, Yue- _chan_?"

"Yeah…."

 _('I can't tell them…')_ Arika thought desperately, invoking the necessary flashback for the benefit of the readers. _('Two days ago, I was so wrapped up in my studies…I mean, most of this is fun and exciting, but the book-learning is so hard, especially when it comes to magic, and I can never seem to get it right…so I just wasn't watching where I was going…. Then Yue-_ chan _just appeared in the middle of the road and I crashed into her! And then my wand discharged the memory-forget spell I was practicing while studying, and it went totally wrong and did this to her…that's the real cause of this amnesia, along with that blow to the head! So it's all my fault…but I can't tell Yôko-_ sensei _that, or_ Mashiro _-sama, either!')_

"So you're really taking responsibility for her, Arika- _chan_?" Shiho said with a wide, enchanting smile. "Ah, how noble of you…."

"Of course! Until she regains her memory, I, Arika Yumemiya, will be like her personal attendant!"

As the adults began to chuckle, Yue suddenly put in, "Um…about that…Miss…Mashiro, you said that this place is a school that accepts students from the world over, correct? That you'll take in anyone who wishes to learn? If it's all right…while I wait for my memory to return…could I attend school here, or at least attend classes and learn with Arika? I'd be happy even just observing…."

"Eh!? That's a wonderful idea!" Arika said, excitedly. "It'd be great to have another friend in class!"

"Oh…well, but that's not quite right," Shiho said. "This is…actually a very prestigious and exclusive school, and, moreover, one that is considered 'dangerous'. It is independent from all nations, but they have agreements in place as to how many students can come from each nation, because of the potential strength of fully-trained HiME…they are the equivalent of aircraft carriers or WMDs on the other side."

As Yue began to be crestfallen and Arika began to interject with her usual excitement, Mashiro suddenly put in, "What Miss Sannomiya says is true…but this is a special occasion. Magic works in its own ways sometimes, after all. There may be a protest if word gets around, but I think that we can arrange that. As owner of the school, I'll allow it. I'll discuss it with the Headmaster and make sure you're approved. Yôko- _sensei_ , if you could arrange for a procedure for her?"

"Procedure?" Yue asked carefully, surprising even herself at the lack of excitement she showed at this acceptance, even as the emotions welled up inside her.

"I suppose I'd better explain…" Shiho sighed.

"No, let Arika start, and Yôko- _sensei_ can do the rest while she performs it," Mashiro insisted, silencing the other girl. "If you would come with me now, Miss Sannomiya…."

Dutifully, Shiho followed the 'owner' out as Arika began to barrage Yue with strange and confusing information. "Am I in trouble, Mashiro _-sama_?" Shiho asked innocently.

"No, of course not," Mashiro replied with her sweet smile. "But I wanted to discuss Yue with you. I shouldn't need to say this, but everything about her, including everything you know, must remain top secret."

"Hmm. I thought as much. Especially since she bears a striking resemblance to a sudden new international criminal…."

"Of course…I figured you'd have seen it, since you are the police chief's daughter. There are all sorts of special circumstances around this, but for now, I can trust your discretion…right?"

Shiho sighed. "Of course," she agreed resignedly. "After all, we don't know what could happen to me if I start blabbing anything about the owner's secrets…."

8-8-8

"That little girl…is really the 'owner'?" Yue asked as she lay in the bed. She winced only slightly as Yôko pierced her ear.

"She is. The school of Garderobe has belonged to the Kazahana family for generations, and, despite how she looks, Mashiro Kazahana is the recognized owner and president. For the general running of the school, it is in the hands of the appointed Headmaster, Natsuki Kruger, who is one of the Five Pillars. Now, more importantly, about this operation…as Arika- _chan_ more-or-less explained to you, the HiME we train at this school use a powerful, ancient form of MagiTech. HiME stands for 'Highly-advanced Materializing Equipment'. The powers of the HiME are manifested in the materialization of MagiTech equipment. This materialization is made possible through the GEM and the nanomachines we are putting inside you. The GEM is the power source that uses your mana and creates a storage of energy that is used by the nanomachines to materialize your Robe and armaments. This piercing is necessary to set your GEM, and now we're injecting you with the nanomachines. Naturally, there will be a period when your body will have to adjust to the nanomachines, during which you may develop a fever or other symptoms of mild infection, so we'll need you to rest in your room for a few days. After that, you'll receive your first GEM, the Coral GEM of first- and second-years, and you'll be able to join Arika- _chan_ 's class."

Yue digested all this information as Arika watched on in excitement and Yôko hooked the various tubes up to Yue in order to begin feeding her body the aforementioned nanomachines.

Meanwhile, Mashiro Kazahana was discussing the new matter in the main office with her pillars.

At the desk was the Headmaster, Natsuki Kruger. A beautiful woman with long, dark-blue hair, she always wore a serious expression, but was known as a fair and compassionate governor around the school. She was dressed in a kind of odd half-dress half-suit that, she felt, properly represented her unique position. Flanking her on her right was a taller woman with long brown hair in a purple dress, regal and noble in her bearing, with a kind smile on her face. A woman with shorter red-brown hair in a low ponytail, herself shorter and fuller-bodied, was on the left side of the desk, dressed in a blue-white dress, and on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, was a woman with long, wild red hair and dressed far more casually than her associates. Adding the maid seated behind the girl, these were the Five Pillars that were the ultimate support of the academy.

"This is a very delicate situation, considering her real identity," Natsuki pointed out. "If one of the councilors, especially the Halteese, finds out about her, we could face serious pressure. And if Shiho- _chan_ reads her…."

"I've already taken care of Shiho- _chan_ ," Mashiro informed her. "I've taken steps so that no one will be able to unveil her identity magically, and while Shiho- _chan_ recognizes her, I've explained to her the delicate nature of the situation, and obtained her promise that no _trouble_ will come of this."

"Not that Shiho- _chan_ 's word is all that reliable," the redhead added with a chuckle. "Still, she is a very wise girl—largely because of her power—and she must understand what kind of trouble this could make. And luckily, since we limit the full news the girls receive here, no one else should really recognize her."

"What about Nina- _chan_?" the other ginger/brunette insisted. "Did you forget about her, Midori? Her father likes to keep her informed, as well…."

Midori, well-named on account of her bright green eyes, considered. "Well…."

"Nina's father is a very reasonable man," the elegant woman added. "And while she can be…very ambitious, she's responsible, too. When the time comes, we'll extend our talk to her, as well." She glanced at the seated Headmaster. "But before, Natsuki…the way you mentioned it, it sounds like you're against letting this Yue enter…?"

Natsuki chuckled. "Don't twist my meanings, Shizuru," she told the girl, affection evident in her own rebuking tone. "Just making sure the facts are laid out. We'll definitely have to be careful, but it's probably the best solution. It's not like we can hide her. What else do we know?"

"Urahara Kisuke has been in contact with me," Mashiro said. "I've enlisted his help in…setting things in motion. Until we can safely restore her to her place, she'll have to be our ward…and, well-known or not, it'll be easiest if we keep her as a student rather than some sort of honored prisoner."

Natsuki sighed and shrugged. "It's out of my hands anyway, then, isn't it?" She glanced over to her left. "So, MK, she'll be starting your class first, right? We'll explain what we can to her here, for starters; why don't you join us?"

"Of course," 'MK' agreed easily.

Mashiro nodded. "Let's go then, Fumi. It's about our tea time."

"Of course, Mashiro _-sama_ ," Fumi agreed, turning the chair around.

"You can stay with us, Mashiro _-sama_ ," Shizuru said pleasantly. "We're always happy to have more for our own tea-times."

"Thank you all the same, but I should be going. My interest in our new young ward has put me behind on my own paperwork. Until next time…."

Yue lay on her bed, absorbing everything…all that she had heard that day, and the burning sensation inside of her from the nanomachines and the GEM going to work. After the procedure, she had met with the Headmaster, Natsuki Kruger, and two other of this school's so-called 'Pillars'—Shizuru Viola, the brown-haired picture of elegance who seemed to do little more than stand at Natsuki's shoulder, and Mary-Katherin Black, the red-brown-haired woman dressed in surprisingly vibrant colors. There Natsuki, primarily, explained more about the GEMs and the HiME at the school.

"This is an all-girls school, as you may have noticed," Natsuki pointed out. "There is a particular reason for this—although both men and women can develop impressive magical powers, the nanomachines used in this procedure only operate within females. An overabundance of testosterone in the system destroys them. This strange situation has never been resolved, so the HiME have remained a strictly female force…."

"Does that mean that…relationships with men are forbidden for HiME?" Yue was compelled to ask.

Natsuki stopped and the three adults stared at her. MK began to giggle as Natsuki attempted to find a response. "No…I mean…that is…."

"The only way that would make _any_ sense would be if the nanomachines all congregated in a…very special part of the female anatomy," Shizuru said with a smirk. "Now, continue, please, Natsuki…."

Shizuru seemed to be the only person in the room not blushing now, but Natsuki bravely pressed on, "…In any case, this school is multinational. No, rather, it is supported by all the nations of Arcanus Myrror. A properly trained HiME, a Crown HiME, wields powers comparable to some of the other high-level mages and warriors of the world—the Knights of the Round, or the BattleMages of Halteese, or the S-Class mages of Dalkia and Fiore. As such, the nations are very competitive about how many of their young ladies get to attend this school, and we have to be diplomatic in our neutrality. Therefore, for a girl such as you with no known past or identity to be accepted to this school is…unusual, at best. We mention this only in order to impress upon you how prestigious your honor is. The owner has taken your scholarship upon herself due to your unusual circumstances, so you won't have to worry about the normally exorbitant costs of this education, but you should acknowledge your fortune."

"There is one other important point about the HiME," Mary-Katherin added. "When you graduate, you will likely be adopted as a HiME of a powerful member of one of these nations…as you have no affiliation of your own, we can't surmise who might be willing to take you, but the HiME are the servants of their masters. You will be educated in all sorts of arts, from combat and magic to many other physical activities, and even the procedures and customs of servitude. The true power of the GEM comes through a contract between you and the master you will take. As a beginning student, you are a Coral, and bear a mass-produced, fake GEM that derives its minor power from our Founder. We, the pillars of this school, are also contracted to our power through the Founder, but most other HiME are contracted to a particular master. The true GEMs come in pairs, one to be worn in your earring, and the other in a ring or other jewelry worn by your master. The contract binds your lifeforce—if you are injured, your master will feel your pain, and if you die, your master will as well, and thus their lives are completely in your hands. This is what it truly means to be a HiME—to swear yourself to another, risking your life for them, living for their purpose. For this reason, although it is not _forbidden_ to have contact with men, many HiME forgo any romantic attachments. This is the world you have entered, Yue—the world of the HiME."

Yue nodded. "That's fine."

She considered it all as she lay on her bed. _('Contract…something about that…sounds familiar….')_

She shook her head. _('It doesn't matter. This is…somehow….')_

"Yue- _chan_!" Arika burst into the room in excitement. "There you are! How are you?"

"Ah…I'm fine. Nothing wrong so far."

"Great, great." Arika nodded happily. "I'm so excited to have you in our class tomorrow, Yue- _chan_! It'll be great to have you there!" She actually calmed down slightly. "Although, I'm kinda surprised, Yue- _chan_ …wanting to study so badly even though you have amnesia and everything. You must have really loved studying, huh?"

"Y-you think so…? Something about that seems a little off, though…."

"Yeah, I have trouble studying, too. But I wonder, Yue- _chan_ …why did you want to study here so badly?"

"Well…for some reason, listening to your stories greatly aroused my interest. Since you ask, why do you want to be a HiME so badly, Arika?"

Arika sighed happily and assumed an oddly dreamy face. "Ah…HiME, huh? I'm from far to the west, from the 'wild lands', far from the major nations. I was raised by my grandmother, but she told me stories about my mother, who was a HiME for the Queen of Windbloom. She was the Blue Sky Sapphire, one of the most famous HiME in the world! So I decided to come here, to Garderobe Academy, and learn more about my mother and what she was. And here, when I arrived in Wind Bloom, I saw it for the first time…the 'Dance' of a HiME! Shizuru- _onee-sama_ , the Bewitching Amethyst! She was so cool and beautiful…'So this is a HiME, huh?' I thought. And that's when I decided. I was going to become a great and wonderful HiME, too! That became my ultimate dream! And here I am!"

Yue smiled. "Well, then…that sounds wonderful…so I was thinking, if you're aiming for it, maybe I could go for it, too."

Arika laughed and clapped Yue on the shoulder. "Yeah! That's the spirit! It'll be great! We'll become HiME together!"

 _('Yeah…she's energetic…from the way the Headmaster explained the HiME, it seemed like they're major competitors, but Arika is very accepting…she reminds me of…._

 _('…Of whom…?')_

"In any case, for class, you'll need tools…I got a lot given to me by my friends when I started as a HiME, and I haven't been able to use them all." She pulled out….

"Oh…practice wands." Yue scooped one up. "Let the magic become a candle to show the way. Light." And a flame lit off the end of the wand. _('Yes…this, I remember….')_

"Oh! Nice!" Arika enthused. "You really know how to do magic! That's really cool, Yue- _chan_!"

"If you're learning magic here, you should be able to do this much," Yue commented.

"Aha…well…to be honest, I'm a bit of a dunce, and I've had all sorts of problems learning magic…I'm the worst of the Corals. B-but I'm trying my hardest! And I'm doing really well in combat and all the P.E. courses, even with how mean Nina- _chan_ is to me! In any case, I'm not last in the class anymore, thanks to the results of the last test…."

"Ah…is that so…."

Yue began to consider the feelings in her again. "But…magic…magic?"

"Ah! Did you remember something?"

"No…no, unfortunately…."

Mary-Katherin presented the new girl to the class. She was now dressed in the dark pink dress of the Coral students, and wore a bandage around her head, covering her small wound. Her short height and slim build did not make her stand out, but the bandage and that crazy-huge hair of hers, on the other hand….

"This is Yue Yumemiya. She's a distant relative of Arika- _chan_ 's. Everyone get along with her!"

Yue bowed properly to the class before her. "Pleased to meet you."

MK gestured. "Your seat is there, next to Arika- _chan_ 's."

Yue made her way to the seat, next to her beaming roommate. Then Arika started as Yue dropped the huge pile of books on the desk. "W-wow," Arika said, twitching slightly at the sight of such a lethal dose of learning. "Y-you're…really into this…."

"Well, it seems I wasn't that great of a mage," Yue said. "If I want to live up to being a HiME, I have to study hard…."

Shiho, sitting in her seat near the back, smiled slightly at the new arrival. Most of the eyes in the class were on her, and in most particular Yue noticed the girl with the sharp eyes, blue hair in large bushy pigtails, and serious expression just in front of her to the right. As Yue returned a pensive, inquisitive stare of her own, Arika suddenly burst out, "Ah, Nina- _chan_! This is Yue- _chan_ , my friend and roommate and…and relative and all! Be sure to help her along too, okay?"

Nina continued staring at Yue, ignoring Arika, and finally let her gaze flick to the stack of books on Yue's desk. "Are you really related to Arika?" she said with that very serious expression of hers, and then turned back to face the front.

"H-hey! What do you mean by that, Nina- _chan_!?"

Nina didn't get a chance to answer Arika—if she cared to—as Mary-Katherin once again called everyone's attention to her. She finally began her lesson….

8-8-8

"Ers- _chan_!" Arika declared, showing the girl off.

The girl had short blond hair and fidgeted nervously. Apart from her hair and blue eyes, her only remarkable feature was her expansive chest, rather noticeable even under the chaste HiME Coral uniform. "E-Erstin Ho," she introduced herself. "F-from Grandall. Pleased to meet you."

"Irina- _chan_ and Shiho- _chan_!" Arika continued.

"Shiho Sannomiya. Welcome to the class," Shiho said with a smile, very skillfully allowing the introduction without pointing out that she had already had the opportunity to meet the new girl.

Shiho was similar to Erstin in bust size, and the only other girl in their class who seemed remarkable in this regard. Irina, on the other hand, made her mark with her rather wild, almost crab leg-like red-pink hair and tiny glasses sitting just on the end of her nose. "I'm Irina Woods of the Halteese Republic. If you're Arika- _chan_ 's relative, you must be from way out in the sticks as well, right?"

"Uh…yeah…I guess," Yue murmured. It was probably true, she reflected, since nothing was known about her in any of these 'civilized' eastern lands….

"And, of course, Nina- _chan_!"

Nina glanced back at Arika, sighed, and nodded in acknowledgment to Yue. "Nina Blan de Windbloom."

"And these are all my friends!" Arika enthused. "I've only been here a few months myself, but they've taken really good care of me, so I owe them all a lot!"

"Please don't mention that," said Nina. "Most of what you owe me was so troublesome I just want to forget about it…."

"Hey, don't be mean, Nina- _chan_!" She stuck her tongue out at the other girl, viciously, but Nina once again ignored her.

Yue stared at the exchange. Before she could comment on it, another shadow swept over them. "My, you shouldn't monopolize the new girl so, or overwhelm her with too many stimuli." Yue glanced up at a smiling girl with long turquoise hair and a regal air about her. "I'm Tomoe Marguerite. I'm the number two Coral, trailing only Nina here, but it's also my pleasure to be your class representative. Please, if you have any trouble or problems, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Ah…right…."

Arika laughed sheepishly. "Ah…right…sorry, Tomoe- _chan_! You don't hang out with us as much, so I forgot to introduce you. But here are some of the others: Tomoe- _chan_ is really nice and helpful, like she says, and, ah, here they are! That's Lillie- _chan_ , Yayoi- _chan_ , and Miya- _chan_!"

The new approaching girls included a very tall one with short brown hair, a much shorter and rather younger-looking girl with purple hair, and a medium-length brown-haired girl with a somewhat mousy attitude about her. They were, in order, Lillie Adean, Yayoi Alter, and Miya Clochette.

The girls excitedly asked questions of the newcomer, and Yue attempted to give non-committal answers, usually of one word and sometimes just grunts. She knew she needed to avoid saying too much to attract attention to her real circumstances, but it was far easier just to avoid responding because she didn't like all the people pressing in to begin with. She really did feel uncomfortable with too many people paying attention to her….

Finally Tomoe clapped her hands. "All right, that's enough. Poor Yue still seems a little taken by culture shock, and the next class will start soon. Everyone, return to your seats…."

8-8-8

Yukariko Steinberg taught history to the prospective HiME. Arika suffered under the savage learning, but Yue strove to be attentive….

"The Old World was believed by most to be a legend or myth for the longest time…only the greatest of Archmages knew about the existence of both worlds and the method to traveling between them. However, about two hundred years ago, the societies around the Gates established their continual use.

"This separate growth created a great dichotomy in their development—the lack of abundant magic led the Old World to develop much more technologically, but this same development led to a much more serious pathology. Over thousands of years, the worlds truly walked completely separate paths, and became in ways, mirror images of each other…."

Yue listened, took notes, read, absorbed the knowledge. When Midori Aswad taught them physical education and combat techniques, Yue threw herself into the efforts. She labored hard under Mary-Katherin's supervision, seeking to improve her skills in magic.

In all she did, she put forth all her effort. She felt driven, almost obsessed….

 _('More knowledge…._

 _('More power…._

 _('And then, if I'm able to do it…I can become a great mage…just like 'that person'.')_

Yue stopped and frowned. She glanced heavenward as the thought burned into her mind. _('…Who is 'that person'…?')_

F I N

 _Author's Note: Character Introduction: Arika Yumemiya and Shiho Sannomiya_

 _Well, Yue's grand adventure has begun! I'm going to have a lot of fun with this part. Like with Nodoka, the group she found herself with in the magic world was interesting, but not interesting enough for me…rather than just make it totally Negi-copy, I decided I had to do something SPECIAL. Yes, in all caps. For Nodoka, that SPECIAL was to introduce Fairy Tail. For Yue, I had even better: The Familiar of Zero!_

 _Well, that was the initial thought, because the theme of the magic fits better, since mages do have brooms and have to use wands to cast magic, and that image is somewhat incongruous over here in Otome land. Finally I decided that adjusting it was a little too much trouble, especially since, while I liked Louise, she just couldn't make her mark as a_ tsundere _secondary character with no Saito to back her up. She has to have her boy and her spotlight, or she's just no good. On the other hand, while the magic integration isn't the best, My-Otome fit the bill pretty well, as it is an all-girls school of magical-powered fighting machines, and Yue fits in real well as Arika's new friend. Arika is energetic and fun, but a character with enough meaninglessness in her that she is easily relegated to side character status (as she was in the manga version). So, in she comes, with Garderobe, Wind Bloom, and lots of My-Otome stuff (with some original My-HiME thrown in for good measure). This will be a very fun part to write, as I love Yue's magical world adventure mini-arc, and I get to combine it with fun My-Otome arcs, so I just have to adjust the scenarios some and go to town. I should finish this arc much more quickly than the previous two Acts, 9 and 10…._

 _As I've mentioned previously, I've had this planned for a while, as shown by my earlier mentions to the HiME in passing. Yes, even though this is using the My-Otome theme, I'm using the term from the original work, My-HiME. The main reason for this is that HiME both sounds and works better here, especially since the 'HiME' acronym can actually make sense. And one of the main reasons for the suggestive nature of the Otome theme, that they have to be maidens, was lampooned by me in this very chapter—while it allowed me to tolerate the overabundance of suggested_ yuri _(Japanese: girl on girl) present, it was tragic (because I'm a romantic) and stupid (because, honestly, the nanomachines are destroyed by intercourse because the 'man stuff' enters them? As I lampooned, that would suggest that all Otome nanomachines…go there…). As I have done before, I lampooned the idea further by having one of the main characters out of nowhere suggest the idea in order to bring it up so I could mock it (as I did earlier with Kagome, asking if she's Kikyô's reincarnation). I'm making other adjustments to the overall background in small ways, some of which are very evident, and many of which involve specific characters, so I'll wait to mention them until those characters are introduced. I could get 7 or 8 here, but since I have this entire Act to do and a lot of characters, I'll take it slow and do a few at a time._

 _A rika is the main character of My-Otome, and quite a change from Mai Tokiha, heroine of My-HiME. Arika is energetic, friendly, and rather stupid, but she is a natural athlete and very well-conditioned…even before getting the Otome nanomachines, she is the physical equal of Nina, the #1 Coral. She has the Blue Sky Sapphire of her mother, Lena Sayers, and is following her dream to become an Otome like her. In my version, the different Mashiro won't lead to her getting her Meister Robe on as quickly, but I will have to find a place for it. Arika makes both a great friend and in many ways foil (because they are opposites in many ways) to Yue. She is also great friends with Nina, although they are different kinds of foils to each other as well. She and Yue will be doing a lot together, so you'll see plenty of her. Of course, that's to be expected…._

 _S hiho is one of the Zettai Karen Children, or 'Absolutely Lovely' Children. I'm introducing her here before many others mostly to get one issue out of the way: she is not the usual Shiho from the My-HiME universe and has no relation to the obsessed quack girl. And, to avoid confusion, that girl is one of the ones I jetted from my story, because Shiho is more necessary._

 _The real reason for her necessity stems from the eventual 'Race for the Capital' adventure, as I need 3 good pairs of the Coral HiME to go to Orimus to meet Kain and co. Arika & Yue, Nina and Erstin, great, and Irina is her other best friend, but…Tomoe has her issues, as we will see, and none of the other three are significant enough to be allowed into this exclusive club. So just to add a third girl of approximately the right age I decided to grab my favorite of those ZKC, my little Shiho here._

 _Zettai Karen Children features a world of pseudo-earth (most of the countries have comically off names, such as the US of Comerica, Ingland, Franse, and Jermany…only Japan gets to keep its real name) where psychic powers are common, qualified, and quantified. There are seven levels of psychic power, and in Japan there are only 3 level 7s, the most powerful—the three ten-year-old girls. Their powers have given them all issues, and psychic predictors declare that there is an equal chance these brats will be the saviors or destroyers of mankind, basically, so a genius normal guy named Kôichi Minamoto has to raise them and be their commander as they undertake missions for the government. The manga continues following their growth, and after going through middle school they have now finally entered high school, actually reaching regular protagonist (manga) age, so they have become more interesting characters. Shiho, as I mentioned, was my favorite of them. She is a Psychometer…she can learn about anything just by touching it, and read minds by touching people (as well as finding all about their heartbeat, cholesterol, pulse, breathing, etc.). All three of the ZKC have had these powers since they were tiny, and so life has been hard for them. Shiho might be the most broken of all, knowing from a young age all the deepest darkest secrets of humanity and being treated as a dread creature because she can read all your innermost secrets with a touch. She developed a natural defense of callousness and a bloodthirsty image, but thanks in large part to the leader of the trio, Kaoru, she has grown to have a healthy amount of love in her as well. I find her fascinating because of her many levels of masks and feelings—most of the time she acts like a perfect and angelic girl, while cheerfully telling her friends all her dark real thoughts about how she can't wait to flay their enemies alive and feast on their flesh (or something like that). But even this apparent_ yandere _attitude is a shell, concealing her truly caring heart—as our readers will see, Shiho is fiercely protective of her friends and will do anything for them. And, of course, she's going to torture the bad guys mercilessly while she's at it. Once Nao appears, we'll probably see that they actually get along well. She's a fun character to add to the Otome mix here._

 _Okay, that's enough on her for now. Let's continue with our HiME training!_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Two: Mahô Shojô Yue, Part Two: Beauty in the Water

Shiho picked up the bag from off the desk and examined the knife inside. She softly touched the weapon with her other hand (through the plastic covering, of course), and seemed to stare at it vacantly. "The offender is a male, living in the same apartment complex in the floor above. Arrest him." She moved next to take up the bag holding the red high-heel. "This woman is already dead. She was led out under pretense and assaulted. Her body is now on a mountain on…."

"I-I think that's enough," MK said wearily. "That's plenty, for a case like this…."

The uniformed man adjusted his glasses and frowned under his bushy mustache. "Shiho's abilities are of great use to the department. When she is able to help out, we appreciate her coming here…naturally, as a student of Garderobe Academy, we can't order her to assist us, but we benefit greatly from her aid."

"I understand," MK sighed. "Yes, Shiho- _chan_ 's powers are quite useful, I'm aware, and so the Headmaster has allowed this, but Shiho- _chan_ is still just a child. Cases as gruesome as this…."

"It's not a problem," Shiho assured her teacher. "I like helping Papa with these cases. Doing this is a nice kind of hobby…it helps me blow off steam…."

"Ah…well…that might be _worse_ …" the teacher muttered. "In any case, Director Sannomiya, you should have enough information for this case now, correct? We should really be going now…."

Director Sannomiya, chief of Wind Bloom's national force, adjusted his glasses again. "…Yes, that's enough for today. As always, your work is exquisite, Shiho. Thank you for lending her to us, Mary-Katherin- _sensei_." And he turned and walked out.

Mark-Katherin sighed and motioned to Shiho and the three others standing off to the side. They left the station and the teacher turned herself back towards Garderobe.

"Well, I have to return to the school," she told them. "You still have your shopping to do, I assume? Enjoy yourselves…but make sure you're back by curfew."

Yue stared after her until she disappeared in the great city's crowd. "So…what was that about?" she demanded. "What…was Shiho- _san_ doing?"

"She was just using her talent!" Arika explained enthusiastically. "Shiho- _chan_ has a magic talent that is…is…." She laughed and rubbed her head. "Actually, I don't know how to explain it at all…."

"I'm a Psychometer. I use Psychometry, and that's all," Shiho explained.

"That's not the half of it, of course!" Irina continued, falling into a lecture. "People who can use powerful magic without any significant aid number less than 25% of the population, even here on Arcanus Myrror. Less than 0.01% of those have natural magical talents—an ability for a certain type of magic that they develop automatically, without any training or studying. Shiho has the talent of Psychometry, which means that she can learn about anything simply by touching it. These abilities are also rated by levels, from 1 to 7—and Shiho has a level 7 talent.

"Because Psychometry has all sorts of uses for solving mysteries and discovering secrets, on occasion Shiho's father, Director Sannomiya- _san_ , asks for her assistance from time to time."

"I see," Yue said, digesting this. "But why did we have to call Mary-Katherin- _sensei_ for this?"

Shiho held up her right hand to show Yue the large, exquisite ring on her finger. "It's not nearly as precious as it seems," was her first explanation, given with a smirk. "Nickel plated with electrum, and the stone is simply colored quartz. But it's made for function, not value, unfortunately. My power is so great that it can be a danger to myself and others—at least, that's the excuse. The truth is that everyone, especially adults, is afraid of my powers…the ability to peer into others' hearts with just a touch, read their deepest secrets and most hidden thoughts. So the authorities of Wind Bloom have required me to wear this ring, a magic suppressor, since I was small, and whoever is in 'charge' of me—and right now, that's the teachers and leaders of Garderobe—has the magic code spell to turn it off to allow me to use my full powers. So Papa has to get permission from them, and one of them has to come and release me so I can assist him properly." She sighed. "Really, I prefer when Midori- _sensei_ and Shizuru- _onee-chan_ come, because they aren't nearly so squeamish and let me do all the gruesome and horrible cases I want…."

" _Hai, hai_ ," Irina sighed, clapping her shoulder. "Well, we're burning daylight here. You wanted to pick up some more books on magic, right, Yue?"

Yue nodded. "Yes…I've been given many books already, and I've been checking them out of the library, but I'd like a few more of my own to study personally…."

"All right!" Irina nodded enthusiastically. "Well, let's get to it then! I know a great book store near here…I always go there for my books of MagiTech!"

The group traveled to Irina's choice of vendor…a great book shop that looked almost more like a library. Yue looked around in awe, her expression of joy and excitement only barely concealed. "…The only problem is…where do I begin looking?"

"Well, I can show you another use for Psychometry." Shiho raised a hand. "What kind of books are you looking for?"

"Well, let's start…with some mid-level spell texts…."

Shiho put a hand to the floor. "Hmm…." She stood and pointed. "We should go this way." She led the group to the back of the store, to a large book shelf. "Here are some spell texts…." She put her hand to the bookshelf after asking Yue for a few more details. "Yes…these ones right here…."

With Shiho guiding her, Yue found the books she wanted and, with a great burden kindly shared between her new friends and herself, they made their way back to the school.

8-8-8

Shizuru set the cup of tea down in front of Natsuki, received her thanks, and then stepped back and held up her own cup. "It seems MK has returned from the police. The children are still shopping; dear little Yue seems to have an insatiable appetite for knowledge. A side effect of her amnesia, perhaps?"

"I wish I knew what the real cause of it was," Natsuki sighed. "Of course, Arika's actions indicate that she's responsible somehow, despite her attempts to hide it…a miscast spell after colliding with her is likely. But what's keeping it held? Yôko told me that she even asked Shiho to check her out, and Shiho couldn't read anything…her memory wasn't only blocked, she'd been overlain with an incredibly powerful scryguard. The only person who has met her since her arrival who could cast such a spell is…."

"Mashiro _-sama_ herself. She even said that she had 'taken steps' to that effect. Well? Is it really a surprise? I mean, considering who she _really_ is…."

"Of course," Natsuki agreed. "I mean, obviously it's better to keep her secluded her until we can figure out more about the situation, but I wonder if it was really necessary to go that far. With all the actions we could take…why this?"

"Hmm…are you losing faith in our young leader?" Shizuru teased.

Natsuki smiled ironically. "Losing faith? In that 'young' leader who has been 'about ten years old' since we were students at this school, and probably a long time before that? What kind of faith are we talking about?" She shook her head. "No, I know she has reasons and plans…I just wish I knew a little more about them." She sighed again. "For now, I'd settle for knowing a little more about our new young charge."

Shizuru chuckled. "Well, that, at least, I can help with. If we can't find out anything about who Ayase Yue was, we can find out who Yue Yumemiya is." She set her tea cup down. "They should be back soon. And if I know anything about the girl yet…there's one place she'll head immediately with her new prizes. If you'll excuse me…."

8-8-8

"Ah…here?" Arika whined as she and Yue arrived in the library with their burden.

"You don't have to stay with me," Yue informed her. "If you'd rather go…."

"No, no," Arika insisted with a sigh. "I'm just…not much for book learning…but I've got to stick with you now! I can just…work on my studies, which I need to do…."

Yue accepted Arika's resignation, and, finding a quiet corner, began to pour over her tomes. Secrets and mysteries within, knowledge that she hungered for….

"Ah…Yue- _chan_ , isn't it?" a cheerful voice asked, disturbing her thoughts. She looked up at Shizuru, who smiled at her. "Well, well…pouring yourself into books already. Hopefully Arika- _chan_ can learn from your example…studies are pretty much her only weakness…."

"Shizuru- _onee-chan_!" Arika returned happily.

Shizuru put a finger to her lips to remind Arika to rein it in after her outburst, and turned back to Yue. "What are you studying now?"

"Just…some special magic theories." She showed the book to the woman.

"Contracts, eh?" Shizuru noted, sitting down next to the girl. "That's an interesting subject to study. What made you think of this, Yue- _chan_?"

"Ah, well…I don't know, not really. But…when the Headmaster and everyone talked about how Crown HiME make contracts with royalty…it struck something in me. I felt…something familiar about the concept…."

"Oh? Is that so?" Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Well, contracts are a special type of magic indeed, as I'm sure you're reading. If you want to know more…I'd take special note of these chapters…."

Shizuru marked parts of the book for Yue to study, then after seeing her on her way to deep thought, she moved to the other side to help Arika with her studies…and chat her up a little about her new companion. And, from the doorway, a venomous eye watched the group….

8-8-8

The fifty-two members of the second-year Coral Class lined up in the shallow end of the pool prior to beginning their swimming exercises. The light-blue swimsuits seemed to Yue unusual, both with their color and the few additional additions to the color…but of course, her blank memory could not accurately tell her the reason why these seemed so much more 'colorful'. Yukariko Steinberg was their instructor for the swimming class, and lectured them first and foremost about etiquette and decorum and how they must continue to present themselves as ladies….

Meanwhile, another of their teachers was approaching with a special escort in place. "It's rather unusual for you to visit us here in the Garden of Lovely Maidens," Midori teased the visitor. "What brought this on?"

"I just want to see how my daughter's doing," the man protested—tall, well-dressed, with dark blue-black hair and a healthy but well-groomed beard and mustache accompanying it. "Please, Midori- _chan_ , don't make too much of this…."

"Well, if she knows you're here, she'll give an even more serious performance with her swimming…not that she needs the motivation."

As this seemingly routine lecture went on and the visitors approached, something slimy brushed Yue's leg, causing her to start. She glanced around, but there was nothing there. A few other girls also started as something similar happened to them.

Erstin _definitely_ felt something run through her legs suddenly, right between them, far too close to those parts that, while not as sensitive to pain as the equivalent location on the male body, were nonetheless incredibly precious and sensitive indeed. As she looked around in consternation, she could see no sign that anything had assaulted her, and so, staring in front of her at Nina, she came to the only conclusion she could.

"N-Nina- _chan_ …" she said, attracting the other girl's attention. Nina turned back to her, quizzically. Erstin cast her eyes down, her face flushed, and put her index fingers together repeatedly in her embarrassment. "You can't do that, Nina- _chan_ …we're both girls, after all…but…if you really want to…." She was taken aback when Nina put a hand to her forehead and then put one to her own in order to compare the temperatures.

A short time later the swimming activities started. The visitor and Midori watched from the gate around the pool. "You sure you don't want to announce yourself yet?" Midori asked with a smile. "She's about to swim…."

"Yes, and I'd rather not bother her until she finishes," the man chuckled. "I'll wait for her to finish and surprise her…."

8-8-8

There are some requirements and procedures in all walks of life that never seem to make sense, and in the case of the young HiME students the pool activities were one of them—everyone got into the pool and stood there in their lines enduring the lectures, then everyone got out of the pool so that they could, a few at a time, start their exercises. Nina was one of the first lined up to begin.

At Yukariko's call, Nina and those next to her leapt in and started swimming. She had made it about a quarter of the way across the pool when she felt something wrap around her leg. She started and began thrashing, and in short order she felt numerous strange objects grasping her, grabbing her legs and even her torso as she started to go down.

Naturally, her activity was noticed by those on dry ground, and there was a bit of a commotion as some of the girls started yelling and carrying on, while Yukariko and a few of the more energetic students started moving that way. Midori and the visitor, hanging back, started moving forward in consternation as well.

Of course, the most energetic, rushing forward, as Arika, and she was the first to dive into the pool after Nina. Arika's violent arrival, Nina barely, almost subconsciously noted, seemed to scare off the creatures that had their hands (or whatever) on her, and she was released in that moment, but, her strength drained by the struggle she had just undergone, she could only drift towards the bottom, only losing consciousness as Arika descended towards her….

8-8-8

 _('It's odd…seeing those two faces…Father's told me what they are, but…most people don't remember things that clearly from their infancy…each time I see them…each time I hear that song…I can only think about how odd and wonderful it is….')_

Nina's eyes flew open and she gasped, sitting up almost violently. Then she sucked in a deep breath of air. "Nina- _chan_!" Arika cried, throwing her arms around her.

Nina accepted the embrace stoically as she tried to get her bearings. She was in the infirmary, which was probably to be expected after what she had just undergone. She was wearing her jacket, now, in addition to her swimsuit. Nurse Yôko Helene was there, along with the usual bothersome group that hung around her—her roommate Erstin, Irina, Shiho, Arika, and, of course, the newcomer Yue, and Yukariko as well. Finally she pushed Arika off of her—not rudely—and asked, "W-what happened, exactly?"

"We're not sure," Yukariko offered. "You were swimming fine, as always, when suddenly you started drowning. It looked as if you were fighting something, but we never saw anything…."

"Arika- _chan_ chased you down into the pool," Shiho put in with a bit of glee, "but, of course, since she's only just started learning to swim herself, she nearly got _both_ of you drowned. But between the rest of us, with help from Yukariko- _sensei_ and Midori- _sensei_ , we were able to save both of you. You were in pretty bad shape, so Erstin had to give you CPR."

"CPR…mouth-to-mouth?" Erstin blushed and smiled shyly, looking away as Nina glanced at her. Nina felt herself reddening, and tried to save face but ended up dooming herself by asking, "But…Midori- _sensei_? Why was she there…? And…."

"Yeah, I'm here," Midori said, as the group parted slightly finally the reveal her there—she had been hidden behind the press of Nina's classmates at first. And, next to her, was the visitor. Midori gestured to the man and said, "I just showed up with our privileged guest here."

The man did a slight wave and then stepped forward, taking a knee so that he could look at the girl more closely. "Hello, Nii-na- _chan_ ," he said softly, putting a slight endearing accent on the pronunciation of the name. "I just came over to say 'hi' today…it's good that you seem all right. You are okay now, aren't you?"

"F-father…?" Nina breathed, staring at the man. Then she suddenly fell back flat and turned over, away from him and most of the group, pulling her blanket up to better cover herself.

"Nii-na- _chan_ …."

"I-I'm fine, Father, but…I'm tired…I need my rest…."

 _('H-how horrible…to have something that shameful happen to me…and then…to be rescued like that…in_ that _way…and for Father to see all of it…I can't even face him now…it's all just….')_

Yôko sighed as the whole group stared at Nina's lumpy hidden form in concern. "Well, as the patient says, she's mostly recovered and is in no danger, but she probably does need her rest. So you should all be…."

"Well, I heard our star rookie nearly drowned. How are you doing, you…?"

The speaker was already rattling off this tirade as she came boldly strolling into the little (now very crowded) room, and broke off as she was brought up short by the group present. She had dark red hair, short, and wide green eyes, and was dressed in a white dress Yue vaguely recognized as belonging to the 'Pearls', the advanced students of the school—near as she could make out, the equivalent of what part of her still recognized as the 'high school' level HiME. The HiME taught only four years, beginning at 13 and graduating at 17, with two years of Corals and two years of Pearls. There were always less Pearls than Corals—the curriculum of the school was difficult, to say the least—and so the Corals generally served as minor servants to their _senpai_ Pearls, cleaning their rooms, sometimes cooking and such for them, as part of their training in the arts of servitude. And this was the only Pearl Yue had met so far, Nao Zhang, as she was the Pearl on whom Arika (and, also, Nina) attended.

Nao's face went from shocked surprise to fiendish delight as she set her eye on the mysterious male visitor. "Oh, forgive me, your Majesty!" she crowed. "I didn't realize you had come to visit us. Welcome to the Garden of Virgins!"

An uncomfortable silence greeted Nao's outburst, and she continued, "It seems you chose a pretty poor time to come visit, however…poor Nina doesn't have many failures, but it must be horrible for her, going through some tragic accident with her beloved father looking on…."

"Nao," Midori said softly, warningly.

Nao fell silent, and Nina's father rose and coughed into his hand. "Well, I should be getting back about now. Nii-na- _chan_ needs her rest, now, as Yôko- _chan_ said…if you'll excuse me. Midori- _chan_ …we should go."

"Now, everyone else…time to go…." And Yôko ushered the rest of the group out of the room.

Nao excused herself as soon as they left, and the five remaining girls leaned against the wall outside the medical building. "What was that about?" Yue demanded. "Who was that man…?"

Shiho giggled. "Oh, did we forget to mention? That was Nina- _chan_ 's father…his Majesty King Sargon Blan de Windbloom, ruler of Wind Bloom."

"Oh? Nina- _san_ is…."

"That's right…the princess of Wind Bloom. Nina- _chan_ has a terrible father complex, so she wanted to do more for her father than just be his successor, and so she begged him to let her become a HiME. He's very protective of his little girl, too, so he makes occasional visits to the school. He's about the only man who is allowed in here…."

"S-Shiho- _chan_ …" Erstin pleaded.

As Shiho feigned surprised regret over her comments about Nina, Arika put in, "But, I wonder what that was all about…Nina- _chan_ is a great swimmer. There's no way she should have drowned like that…."

"There was something in the pool," Irina muttered, playing with her glasses. "Several girls say they felt something in there. You did, too, didn't you, Ers- _chan_?" Erstin nodded slowly. "Hmm…but no one could see anything. What could it be…?" Then she grew excited and said, "Oh…I know…it must have been…a ghost!"

The girls stared at her in shock, and then all assumed different expressions. Yue's face remained passive, almost skeptical, Erstin looked on nervously, Arika stared in surprise and interest, and Shiho's face suddenly took on a look of utter fright and horror. She spoke first. "G-g-g-ghost!? N-no!"

With a wail, she suddenly dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Arika's waist. Yue glanced at Irina, who sighed. "Yes…while Shiho- _chan_ can handle any amount of horrible murders, blood, guts, and everything else, horror movies, haunted houses, ghost stories, and everything else involving spirits and paranormal phenomena completely unnerve her. Well, whatever…I wonder if I can make one of those spirit-detecting machines…."

They were taken aback as Nina suddenly exited the building. The look on her face was hard as she scowled. "Ghosts, or whatever it is…we're going to find out! I'll make them pay for embarrassing me like that! Shiho!"

The frightened girl turned her wide, panicked eyes Nina's way. "Use your power to find out what's in the pool!" Nina snapped. "We're going to drag them out and make them pay!"

"Uh-uh, uh-uh!" Shiho insisted, shaking her head furiously. "N-no way! I c-can't if it's g-ghosts! No way!"

Nina glared her, sighed, then turned her gaze towards the library building. "Well, then…we'll have to do this the hard way…."

8-8-8

"I actually find it fascinating," Yue mentioned as she perused another book of Arcanus Myrror fauna. "The sheer number of creatures in this world…so many strange varieties and powers…like this Kalthules Cloth-Eater…." She paused and considered her words for a moment. _('This world…I wonder….')_

Arika gave out a slight moan as she lay her head on the desk. Her eyes spun from the overexertion to her brain caused by too much reading. Yue glanced up at her and a smile quirked up her lip. _('She is…different…I don't think I'm used to having a friend like this, worse at studying than I am…somehow I don't think_ I _should be so dedicated to studying…but….')_

She glanced over at Shiho, who was reading in her bizarre, Psychometry-enabled fashion, picking up a closed book and then closing her eyes. After a while, she would toss the book inside and find another, rinse, and repeat. "I'm surprised you're so dedicated to this," Yue mentioned. "The 'ghosts' don't scare you anymore?"

"They're not ghosts!" she insisted vehemently. "Nina- _chan_ thinks they're an animal, a magical beast! So that's what we're studying! No problem!"

"Then…why don't you go down to the pool and just 'scan' the water with your power, or whatever…?"

"I-I-I can't do that," Shiho whimpered, turning those gimlet-like tear-filled frightened eyes to Yue. "What if they _are_ ghosts, Yue- _chan_? I-I-I couldn't handle it…."

"There, there…" Yue offered, trying to soothe her while inwardly smirking at this strong and honestly rather arrogant girl's crippling flaw.

She glanced over the other way at Irina, pouring over other books. She had a large amount of occult work and MagiTech research before her—from what Yue had been able to get out of her earlier, she was still taken with the idea of ghosts being the actual cause, and was trying to find a good MagiTech device she could build that could enable them to see and find the ghost—an idea that completely put Shiho off, to be sure.

They all started as Nina suddenly slammed her book down loudly and gave a cry of triumph. Even the present librarian was too shocked and cowed to hush the girl to proper library silence. "This is it!" Nina declared, and her friends gathered around. "The Lovian water-eel. A magical beast, partially elemental, it is largely composed of water and is invisible in the water under most normal circumstances. It tends to latch itself to other water creatures and absorb heat, mana, and lifeforce through contact. This is the thing that embarrassed me! From the feel of it, probably several of them…."

"Hmm…" Irina said. "But if they're invisible in the water, it'll nearly be impossible to find them. I guess if they're not ghosts, Shiho- _chan_ might be able to find out a bit about them…?"

"No way! No way!" Shiho shook her head again. "Slimy things like eels are nearly as bad as ghosts…."

"Salt." Nina poked the page. "These eels, when exposed to salt, turn visible in the water. If we use salt, we'll prove they're there, and we'll be able to fish them out of the pool!"

"Hmm…tomorrow, I think," Erstin said, glancing out the window at the sky growing orange. "The teachers will probably let us do it if we have all this proof, but it'll be too late today…."

Under the cover of darkness, a shadow moved. It made its way into the food storage shed, circumvented the lock through a mysteriously acquired key, and slipped inside. There, it stopped at two shelves stacked with large brown bags, one shelf marked with salt, and one with sugar. Fine fingers replaced the 'salt' and 'sugar' tags….

8-8-8

Mary-Katherin looked on while Nina and her reluctant conscripts prepared their work. Arika arrived with the bags of salt and the tools were all arrayed out. At Nina's command, the girls began to pour the white powder into the water. Some picked up and dumped the bags in whole—Arika in particular—others opened them and began to use small hand shovels to scoop more dainty, lady-like amounts in.

They piled up their empty bags as they finished, and finally Nina slapped the last bag into place and dropped her foot on top of the pile. She leaned on her knee and stared out at the pool. "Now, show yourselves, you little creeps! I'll show you what happens to those who embarrass me!"

The group stared out, waiting, waiting…and nothing seemed to be happening. The group was started to fidget and get nervous. "How long before the salt is supposed to take effect?" Yue asked.

"Well, according to what it says here, it shouldn't take too long," Irina said. "A few hours at the most, particularly with the amount we dropped in. And we've been dumping salt for a long time, so by now we should be at least seeing something…maybe Shiho- _chan_ could give it a try, finally?"

The look on the girl's face told her everything. "…Or maybe not. I guess if the salt isn't working, it might be a ghost after all, huh…?"

"D-don't say that…."

Mary-Katherin sighed and walked up to the girls. "Well, I was hoping your idea would pan out, but it looks like nothing came of it. Please get this all cleaned up…I have to go order more supplies for us to replace what you've used." Patting the depressed Nina on the head, she headed back inside.

Nina sat in a corner, legs tucked in, radiating depression, while the others worked slowly to clean up the bags and scrub away the scattered powder. After a bit of work, Arika stood up and scraped at herself. "Ah, this is so horrible…I'm all sticky now…."

The other five all froze solid in their actions. They turned to her slowly. Then Irina dashed over, grabbed Arika's wrist, and licked her finger. She grimaced. "It's sweet…."

Erstin and Shiho quickly followed suit. "Yes…it's sweet…this is sugar…."

Nina was suddenly in the brunette's face. "A-RI-KA!" she intonated dangerously and angrily.

"B-but it's not my fault! I swear! I grabbed all the salt from the storage garage!" Arika protested.

As Nina continued to harass her victim, Yue asked Irina, "I think I remember reading that sugar had a different effect on those water-eels…didn't it?"

Irina fetched the book out of her bag and opened it. There was a rumbling in the water as she exclaimed, "Ah, here it is! Let's see…sugar causes them to bond together…and increase in size…."

Suddenly a monstrous pink form burst from the pool. The girls gazed up in shock as the enormous shape towered above them. The giant mass now less resembled an eel or the thing in their book's photograph and now…seemed to be some sort of tentacle-equipped tree-like monstrosity. It roared in rage and reached down with its snaking tentacles, snapping up Erstin and Shiho.

"Ers- _chan_! Shiho- _chan_!" Arika cried.

Nina grabbed up one of the brooms and dashed at the monster while Yue went for her bag and pulled out a wand. Nina leapt up and lashed out with a few attacks, distracting the monster and getting its attention. It lashed out with its tentacles, but even in the air Nina was able to dance around the attacks and avoid them…mostly. But her broom was not proving a particularly effective weapon, either.

Arika soon joined the assault, equaling Nina in her ferocity and agility but even the two together were little more than a distraction. Yue raised her wand and fired a stream of magic arrows at the beast…but these, too, seemed mostly ineffective.

"W-would you hurry it up!?" Shiho barked. "T-this thing…i-it's crawling inside my s-swimsuit…."

"This just isn't working!" Nina spat. "Irina! Doesn't it have a weakness or something?"

"I-I'm looking…let's see…." While she scanned through the writing in the book, a tentacle suddenly snaked in behind her, grabbed her ankle, and hoisted in the air. With a scream, she dropped the book.

Finally the creature managed to grab Nina, Arika, and Yue as well, and in short order all six girls were being dangled in the air, suffering like innocent female victims in a B-horror movie….

And then a light flashed in the sky, and a flying figure came streaking onto the scene.

"T-that's…" Nina muttered.

"Nao- _onee-sama_!" Arika cried in delight.

"You guys look like you're in a real pickle," the redhead smirked. She was flying in her activated robe—the same color as her dress, but now a suit of armor (although still feminine in appearance) similar in some ways to the battle dress Mai had favored (and the HiME, after all, were the inspiration for that outfit Kagome had originally found). She carried a white staff in one hand and put the other on her hip. "Goodness, your little ghost turned into quite a monster. Normally I'd charge for a service like this, but some of my favorite little Corals here, especially my two cute room attendants, so today I'll make an exception." A few tentacles snaked out towards her, but she dodged easily and then took up her staff in both hands. A twist and pull brought them apart, and it became two short rods connected by a mass of strings. She dashed forward and swung them in wide, dramatic arcs, and the strings sliced through the gigantic beast, slicing it to ribbons…and dumping its six captives unceremoniously into the water.

Midori and Mary-Katherin arrived immediately thereafter, dressed in their own robes, and Midori laughed at the sight of it all. "Well…we really did end up with a troublesome little pest, didn't we? Is there anything left of it?"

Shiho burst gasping from the water and grabbed the edge of the hoisting herself up enough to rest mostly out of it. Bits of pink remnants adorned her hair and suit. "It's dead," she muttered in absolute disgust. "No more problem here…."

Mary-Katherin sighed. "Well…it looks like this is going to be an even bigger clean-up now…let's get the entire Coral class here to help out, shall we?"

Yue pulled herself gasping out of the pool as well. _('U-ugh…that was…horrible. Still…something about this seems…almost familiar….')_

F I N

 _Author's Note: Character Introduction: Nina Blan de Windbloom and Erstin Ho_

 _One little story down and out of the way! The creature in the pool adventure is, of course, a My-Otome original, rather similar to the one I presented here (you've heard the refrain before: the character changes make the big shake-up). In this case, the absence of the original (that is, the My-Otome) Shiho changed the most—crazy_ maki-maki _Shiho summoned the creatures into the pool with her_ maki-maki _voodoo in order to punish Nina Wang and Arika, as she considered them 'insubordinate' and didn't show her the proper respect. Since she isn't here, there's a different culprit—in this case, the culprit is the same one who switched the salt and sugar tags (in the original, they were different culprits) and My-Otome veterans should suspect who this shadowed enemy is. This is not the last time Yue and friends will suffer from the machinations of this vile miscreant…._

 _Shiho's absence was in some ways sad…Shiho's #1 enemy is Nao, revealed in this episode, and their venomous battle was one of the mini subplots of the episode. Shiho, after the great success of her summoned pets embarrassing the Nina girl, tried to sneak in to get rid of the evidence, but Miss Maria caught her at night and prevented her, but after the 'failure' of the 'salt' to reveal the creatures, she jumped in to handle supervising the girls while they cleaned up their failed experiment…and after the creature's surface, she became the first casualty (or victim) of the monster. When Nao swoops in, robed, to battle it, she forces her archrival to beg her help and then saves her in the unceremonious manner._

 _As for my Shiho, that is, the Shiho I'm using, she takes a bit of center stage here, showing off the real implications of her Psychometry and showing her major flaw—a weakness to ghost tales and the like that is as bad as Natsu's motion sickness or Hinagiku's fear of heights. And yes, that is pretty much how she is if the idea of ghosts and such becomes involved. It's a coincidentally useful plot device, because Shiho would realistically be able to easily identify the eels, but the thought that it might be ghosts affects her; it's an unintentional but useful deus ex machina._

 _N ina Wang is Arika's best friend/rival/enemy in My-Otome. A proud_ tsundere _brat, she has a tragic past and an obsession with the man who saved her from it all—Serge Wang, private assassin and aide of Artai's Duke Nagi, and she is trying to become an Otome just to please him. Her tragic past is later shown to be even worse, as she was actually the crown princess of Wind Bloom, lost in the attack on her castle just after her birth—the big event that determined the fate of all three girls (Arika, Nina, and Mashiro). Since the Mashiro I opted for was My-HiME's mysterious crippled leader girl and not the bratty My-Otome princess, I decided it would be cute to have Nina be in her original identity—Nina Blan de Windbloom, the crown princess of Wind Bloom, in addition to a HiME. She has much of the same attitude, and her obsessive love for her adoptive father is adjusted to a mini daddy complex towards her still-living king father. Speaking of that man, he's a nobody in reality I invented for the purpose of being Nina's king father, because I didn't feel like having Serge take that role (but I adapted his name in any case). Nina is largely going to be similar to her earlier, annoying but still useful My-Otome incarnation (before her obsession over Serge makes her go evil) combined with a bit of the '_ iinchô _', class representative, that harasses Yue in her version of events, so she'll have a few changes, especially down the road._

 _O riginally in My-Otome the girls were in dorm rooms housing three each, and Arika was put up with Nina and Erstin. Erstin is a shy girl, the only Coral in the group with a remarkable bust, which naturally becomes a subject of small amounts of little comments and situations. She is loving and friendly, and little_ too _loving towards Nina, as evidenced in part by the pool critter comment from her I took directly from the anime. She is_ really _tragic in the original, as she is a member of a family that has long been part of the evil Schwarz, and so is forced to summon a Slave and battle the girls near the midpoint of the anime and is killed by Nina. This tragedy won't exist here—among other things, she's too much a bit-part character to deserve such a horrid fate with all the other junk I have stuffed in this story. She is partially being modified by the_ iinchô _'s roommate and attendant, a quiet, nobody girl who was a dedicated servant of the rich-family girl who otherwise made little mark. It doesn't show as much, but here she is Nina's actual attendant and roommate, and will faithfully accompany the girl as required._

 _As I've alluded towards, Shiho is the only other member of this group with a bust comparable to Erstin—naturally, starting as a ten-year-old, Shiho has no bust at all, but visions of the future show her to be the most well-endowed of the three, and she is definitely growing at the highest rate now that the three are getting through their teens. The pair may or may not be the subject of occasional intimate female teasings about this matter, as presented in anime like My-Otome. Rather, you can be sure that there are such happenings, but I may or may not show them—no, probably not. I've already had the (original 2/3-A) class involved in plenty of such hijinx, and there's little need to repeat it for every new group of girls that comes along. After all, part of my purpose in writing this story is to reduce the amount of_ ecchiness _in the work…._

 _Well, on to the next chapter…let's continue Yue's adventure…._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Three: Mahô Shojô Yue, Part 3: Beauty in the City

"It's good you could come, Nii-na- _chan_ ," Sargon told his daughter as they settled down to sip tea. "I heard that the pool incident was completely resolved…."

"P-please, Father, don't mention that," Nina muttered. "It's an embarrassing incident…I completely failed to handle it at all…."

"All right, all right. You're in good health, so that's all that matters. How are classes going? Are you getting along with your friends?"

Nina hesitated—she was, in total fact, the kind of girl who had difficulty with words like 'friends'. "There aren't any problems. I'm still doing my best to remain the #1 Coral…."

"Of course, of course." Sargon drummed his fingers on his knee as he considered the thoughts on his mind. "Ers- _chan_ , Anty, Irina- _chan_ , Shiho- _chan_ …all of them I know well, of course, but who was that other girl there? Is she new?"

"Her? Ah, yes…she's Arika's relative…Yue Yumemiya. She seems very new at this, but she studies hard, and while she isn't an athletic freak like Arika, she has talent."

"Ho…Anty's relative? So that's the story…I wonder what this is about…."

Nina gazed at her father quizzically. "They don't tell you much in the Academy, do they?" the king chuckled. "I guess it's the kind of place where it's better to be in the dark about most news." He then showed the ever-present report on the Gateports' destruction and the list of fugitives…including the girl that Nina recognized.

Nina tensed. "That's…."

"A singular coincidence, especially considering the timing. This girl…the Halteese Republic is the one interested in all these fugitives, which is no business of ours although, as the members of the party responsible for destroying the Gateports, they are criminals of interest to the entirety of Arcanus Myrror…if they really _are_ responsible. What do you think, Nii-na- _chan_?"

Nina hesitated. "Our new student…Yue Yumemiya couldn't possibly have been involved in this attack. She is…talented, obviously, but she still isn't ready to be one of the top Corals…I don't know about the rest, but if she was involved with the criminals who did this…it just makes no sense."

Sargon nodded. "Likely Mashiro _-sama_ has the same thought…or maybe she knows even more about the matter. After all, she can keep it hidden for a while if she has that girl in the school, but eventually, word is going to get out…."

"Are you…going to do something…?"

The man laughed. "Heavens, no! I don't want to interfere with the neutral source of my kingdom's security, or with the happy school life of my precious daughter. I'd rather just leave things to them. But, I figured it would be most useful if you heard about it first…so that you won't find out in a worse way later. And…I don't want to place any more burden on your shoulders…but, Nii-na- _chan_ …if you happen to find out anything more about this girl…you'll let me know, won't you?"

Nina started. "Of course, father! Anything I can do for you, I will…."

"That's my girl! Now, let's talk about happier things…."

Erstin, standing just hidden in the hall, reflected on what she had just heard. Then she shook herself to sense and entered, knocking on the open door. "I-I brought treats for you, Nina- _chan_ , your Majesty…."

"Ah, Ers- _chan_ , thank you…."

 _('It's all right,')_ Erstin thought. _('It doesn't mean anything. Yue-_ chan is _a perfectly happy member of our class. Everything will be fine….')_

8-8-8

Yue watched with the rest of the girls while Nina and Arika dueled in their robes. Pearl Robes and all unique Robes granted the power of flight, but Coral Robes did not. Garderobe Academy occasionally had them train with MagiTech HoverDiscs, a tool that allowed them to fly with speed when they needed to back up the faculty and their _senpai_ in emergencies, but most of the 'dance' training—as HiME battles were referred to—was done with Robe alone, as was the case this day.

And, predictably, the duel between Arika and Nina grew a little too fierce. Nina, the #1 Coral and the undisputed battle master of the Corals as well, had found a rival in Arika who, despite her academic failings, could match her quite evenly in combat, and this development had somewhat frustrated her. Today, especially, something seemed to be bothering Nina, and Arika's stubborn refusal to allow any give to Nina's aggression caused her to swell up, and before too long their graceful, leaping, jumping battle turned into a violent scrum and both girls had to be separated when they settled on the ground, actually pulling at each other's lips and cheeks in their frustration.

The dance battles were Yue's least favorite part of the schooling—she had little aggression of her own and felt no taste for battles—but even so, they caught her fancy and entranced her, whether it was watching or participating. The nanomachines of the HiME, all on their own, provided some enhancement to speed, strength, and reflexes, and the activated Robe increased the physical properties of the girls still more, turning them into powerful combatants. In addition, the Robes acted as a kind of magic wand or other magical enhancement tool, making their ability to cast spells increase without the need to carry anything with them. When Yue participated in her own dance battle training sessions, she felt a kind of euphoria, almost a drunkenness arising from the feel of the energy surging through her.

The dance battles were fascinating to watch because of the differing styles of the HiME around her. From what little she had seen of the faculty, their Robes were all unique, each one equipped with different weapons and different special abilities all its own. On the other hand, the Corals were all mass-produced models and they were never given more than a simple staff for a weapon. Even so, each student had her own unique and usually effective method of battling. Arika, having little talent or patience or imagination for spellcasting, simply charged in, fighting with the straightforwardness of a simpleton, yet with an instinctive tactical sense and her marvelous physical prowess that made her one of the most effective fighters of all of them. Nina was the only one who could best her (although not every time) using her own physical skills in a more refined type of martial art and an intelligent use of magic to supplement her besides. Some like Erstin and Irina were better at casting, and Yue developed her own preference and style from them, using physical arts only to defend herself and using magic as the bulk of her offense (and, really, defense as well). Shiho was the most surprising of all—she never showed a particular like of their PE classes and seemed to view the fighting in general with distaste, but in combat she preferred mêlée herself, using a special staff all her own that was synchronized with her Psychometry, allowing her to use that ability on her foes in combat to read their moves and predict their actions.

"You're getting much better, Yue- _chan_!" Arika remarked with her usual good humor and enthusiasm afterwards as they showered and changed and prepared for their more normal classes. "When you first got here, you were really a novice at fighting and everything! But now you're starting to hold your own with everyone!"

"It's true," Irina noted. "I mean, you're not up to Nina- _chan_ or Tomoe- _san_ yet, but your rate of growth has been astounding, comparing where you started to where you ended up! Did you have any experience with fighting before you came here?"

For some reason this comment seemed to attract an unusual amount of attention from Nina—she was still as stoic as usual, but she seemed to be paying attention to them now rather than ignoring them, as she usually did.

"Ah…I really don't know," Yue admitted. "I don't think so. I mean, I knew a little magic, but fighting…." She shook her head. "I doubt it's anything I'll ever get used to."

"But…you don't know?" Erstin pressed. "I mean, you should know whether you've been i-in a fight or not…."

"Oh, well, it's just a kind of mistaken impression!" Arika began hurriedly, making an unusually great mental connection for her. "You know, she means that…ah…."

Unfortunately for her, her ability to actually explain away Yue's slip of the tongue was a little more difficult. Yue's memory loss had not actually been made public knowledge, and while that was not actually a forbidden subject to talk about, Arika, in particular, preferred to keep it a secret, lest someone figure out her own part in causing the amnesia. And Yue never really seemed prone to talk about it, so it had yet to come up. Now, however, although she realized the conversation might be heading that way, her attempts to head it off had completely failed, only making her attempts all the more suspicious.

Before any of the others could comment on the matter, however, Yue sighed and waved her down. "It's all right, Arika. It's probably something I should go ahead and mention…I've kept it quiet long enough anyway."

The group stared at her, interested, and she finally admitted, "The truth is, I've got amnesia. I got it when I arrived here at Garderobe, and there seems to be no way to do anything about it. It's not a big deal, because there's so much for me to deal with here, and I'd rather not get people worked up about it, which is why I haven't said anything yet. But since you ask—I really don't know if I did any fighting before I lost my memory."

The group stared at her, a bit at a loss for words. "Ah…I'm sorry…" Irina began, trying to find something.

"No, no, none of that," Shiho suddenly insisted, smiling at the others. "She just says she doesn't want her amnesia to make any of us treat her differently. While she's here with us, she's Yue Yumemiya, Arika's roommate and relative, and one of our precious classmates and friends. Whatever she was before, or remembers, or doesn't remember, doesn't matter to us. Right?"

Yue stared at the girl, a little taken aback. Of course, Shiho knew about her amnesia before since she had been called on by Yôko- _sensei_ to try and solve the mystery, but this empathetic response to Yue's predicament seemed…a little out of character for her. Shiho seemed very friendly, of course, but her usual biting sarcasm and almost bloodthirsty suggestive humor put Yue off a little most of the time. But this time, Shiho was very in earnest, and Yue found herself quite grateful for her interference.

Erstin and Irina, impressed, began to apologize, but Yue waved them quickly into silence. "No, don't worry about it. I'd rather just forget about it, if you'll excuse the expression, all right? Just treat me like you always do."

Arika sighed with relief as this statement was given agreement, and then she suddenly perked up and said, "Oh, that's right! There's a long weekend coming up, so why don't we all go out together for one of our days off? Maybe we could have a picnic or something?"

"That sounds like a lovely idea," Shiho agreed, and Irina quickly followed suit. Yue gave her quiet agreement, and Erstin mentioned how it did sound good, but cast a sidelong glance at the unsociable Nina while she said it.

Nina gave a half-sigh. "Sure. Why not?"

The group stared at her for a few moments, then reacted. Arika clapped her hands together in joy. "Even Nina- _chan_ 's going to be joining us for this? Oh, that's great! We've got to make sure to make this the best picnic ever!"

Nina gave a full sigh this time. "Don't go out of your way on my account," she muttered. "A nice, quiet lunch away from the school with a bit of extra peace just sounds nice. Don't turn it into anything grand…."

But, as usual, Arika wasn't listening. She, Irina, and Shiho were plotting the details of the picnic with rapt excitement….

8-8-8

The next morning, as they did their early-morning cleaning—probably Yue's least favorite activity of the day, and certainly Arika's as well—a surprise visit from Shizuru caught the attention of the girls. Shizuru greeted all the enthusiastic girls who came to see her, then turned her attention to Yue for a minute or so, asking her condition and the condition of her studies, particularly with her extracurricular magic examinations.

Nina, standing near Shiho, watched the exchange from a distance. "Shizuru- _onee-chan_ seems very interested in Yue…she stops to talk to her rather often."

Shiho considered this. "Hmm. She does at that. But you're hardly one to talk, Nina- _chan_."

Nina glanced askew at her. "Or you either. How long have you known about her 'condition'?"

"Hmm. I wonder. Well? Do you have some concerns about Yue- _chan_?"

Nina shook her head. "No…not right now. She's just…an interesting case."

Shiho gave a slight giggle and went back to her cleaning. Then she glanced over and caught another individual observing the Yue-Shizuru exchange from afar. And Tomoe Marguerite's look was far from the neutral interest of Nina….

The group headed out, leaving the school grounds dressed in their usual uniforms and carrying the supplies for the picnic. Their destination was a large park still within the city limits, not very far from the school itself.

Yue glanced up at the sky as the group headed out, chatting happily. "Hmm…those clouds look rather threatening…I hope that it doesn't rain on us…."

The others glanced up and considered this. "I suppose it could…" Shiho muttered. "It wouldn't surprise me if the weather decided to be uncooperative…on our day off…."

"Can your Psychometry understand the weather?" Yue queried.

Shiho shot her a look that was half-smirk and half-grimace. "Naturally not. Theoretically, I could read the weather patterns and such from the molecules of the air, but part of the fact of this world is that we are surrounded by air at all times…it's a subconscious defense mechanism, or an innate protection of my magic, or otherwise I'd be overwhelmed by the sensory information coming at me every second."

Yue nodded. "Yes…that's reasonable…so I guess we'll just have to wait and see…."

"Well, if it rains, we'll just come up with something else," Irina suggested.

They made it to their destination and had just begun to unpack their lunches when the thunder boomed. They glanced up, and an instant later it began to rain on them. "Awww…" Arika whined. "No! How could it spoil our picnic…?"

"Just our luck, I suppose," Nina said primly. "We should gather everything up before it gets soaked."

They did so, retreating to the base of a large tree afterwards so that they could consider their fate while they stared up at the uncooperative sky and cursed it. "Well, now what?" Shiho asked gloomily.

"W-well…" Erstin said. "There is…."

"I suppose there's the Tea House Wang," Nina suddenly put in. "We could eat while passing the time away in there."

The group turned to appraise her in surprise. "Oh! Yeah, I've been to that place!" Arika said. "Their cakes are quite good!"

"I'm surprised you know about the Tea House Wang," Shiho commented coyly. "It _is_ a good place, but isn't it slumming for Her Royal Highness to frequent there?"

Nina barely glanced her direction. "Are we going or not?" she demanded, not quite irritably.

The group quickly agreed, and so they charged out into the ever-worsening rain. Luckily, the tea house wasn't far from the park, and they arrived before they grew too soaked.

They settled into a booth, and Yue took a moment to observe the locale. It was quiet, somewhat dimly lit and quite clean, and currently empty; no other patrons apart from the young Corals. Its decorum was rather Chinese, living up to its name, despite the more modern layout of booths and tables.

"Although they call it a tea house, it's really just a café," Irina commented. "They serve tea, coffee, deserts of all kinds, and all sorts of light foods and such."

"Do they have a menu?" Yue asked.

"Well…not really," Shiho giggled. "It's a small place, as you'll see…."

Finally, a waitress appeared—the first sign that someone actually worked in the place. She was dressed almost oddly, in a black Chinese dress with her hair in buns, but over it she wore a pink apron. The mousy, glasses-wearing woman hurried up to the table and bowed, a hazardous motion that involved her bringing her head quite low and then snapping back up in an instant, causing her glasses to nearly pop off.

Of course, this was secondary to Yue…more importantly, she recognized the woman. She saw her perhaps more often than any other person at Garderobe did. "Toki- _san_ …from the academy's library…you work here, as well?"

"Eh? Ah…y-yes," the woman admitted. "I-I have to work two jobs to put myself through college, you see…that and my mother's health bills, it being so…." And then she realized what she was doing, looked alarmed and shook her head. "A-ahem! Excuse me. W-welcome to Tea House Wang! What can I get for you today?"

The girls made their orders; Arika enthusiastically ordered three kinds of deserts for herself, and even Nina ordered a large sundae for herself. When Yue hesitated, Arika ordered for her, asking for another of her cakes and telling her, "You've got to try it!"

Yue did so. She was not particularly fond of sweets—her rather quiet tastes, which she did not flaunt, were not popular, and were remarked upon as strange even by her friends—but she enjoyed it well enough. More than anything, despite her usual preference for quiet, she also enjoyed the prattling of the others, particularly Irina, Arika, and Shiho. Somehow, the drone of their words, the frivolous energy they exerted, was comforting….

Erstin sighed suddenly, attracting everyone's attention. "What is it, Ers- _chan_?" Arika asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing…it's just…the Field Trip is coming up…."

This comment brought silence to the group. Shiho lay her head on the table. "Ah…why'd you have to remind me…?" she moaned.

Arika and Yue looked confused, but Nina continued to eat her sundae without reaction. "Field Trip?" Arika asked, voicing Yue's thoughts as well. "What's that?"

"Ah, that's right, you two are both new, only coming this year," Irina commented. "The Field Trip is a yearly survival exercise. You and a randomly chosen partner from our year have to make your way through a carefully-preserved wilderness area to reach the goal. While on the way, one of the _ne-samas_ (either a member of the faculty, or one of the Triad, the top three Pearls) comes to check on you, and you have to cook meals for her each evening and are graded on it, since being able to serve your master under any circumstance is a vital skill, a necessity, for a Crown HiME." She sighed. "It's the most dreaded activity of the year for all Corals. Oh, the agony…."

"If you're prepared, it isn't a problem," Nina insisted. "It's only three days."

"As expected of our elite #1 Coral," Shiho muttered. "Oh, share your wisdom with us, great Miss Nina!" Nina ignored her and resumed eating her treat.

8-8-8

Few other customers came in, and no other staff seemed present except for the librarian Toki. This seemed to bother Yue's friends little, and they continued on in the little tea house for many hours, caring little for the time on this their day off. They told Yue of some of the other games and fighting tournaments they occasionally held, and even about Arika's rather amazing entry into the school, which had finally involved a duel against Nina. Nina offered little commentary during this.

Finally, the rain began to let up, but they had wasted most of the day in the little café. Nevertheless, as evening crept in, they felt that the day had been a fine one regardless, and began to head back towards the school.

However, what should have been a remarkably easy trip back to their home stretched on and brought them no small measure of confusion.

"What's going on?" Irina muttered, adjusting her glasses and glancing up at the nearby street sign. "I don't recognize this street at all. How did we become lost?"

Shiho put her and to the ground. She started and glanced up in shock. "I can't read anything here…it's no wonder we've become lost. Somebody is using magic to misdirect us!"

As the other girls stared at her in alarm, a collection of throaty, harsh laughs pierced the night air. A group of thuggish-looking men almost seemed to arise mysteriously out of the darkness around them. The largest of them, obviously the leader, stood behind his lackeys as he leered at the six of them. "Well, well...what do we have here? A bunch of little HiME out for a stroll. Why don't you stay here with your _onii-chans_ and play with us a bit…?"

Shiho sighed and made a dazzling, innocent girl face. "Oh…what a burden it is to be such lovely maidens…."

"Enough of that," Nina interrupted imperiously. She turned her stern glare and authoritative demeanor on their antagonists. "Are you the ones responsible for playing with our senses? You don't know what you're getting yourselves into." She crossed her arms and continued, "Release the spell and get out of our way if you don't want to get hurt…."

The group snickered. "'If you don't want to get hurt'," parroted one. "Let's teach these little girls some manners…."

One came charging in at her, and Nina stood calmly as he approached. Then she intercepted his advance with a perfectly-timed roundhouse kick right to his face.

This action hardly deterred his fellows. As one body, they all came charging in next, and the fight commenced in full. Nina threw herself into the battle, calmly and aggressively attacking any who came close to her. Erstin, Irina and Yue, less aggressive and sure of themselves, drew their wands from various pockets and used some of their magic to ward off their foes, while Arika especially moved to protect the three of them, fighting with almost animalistic, playful abandon. Shiho, like Nina before, calmly waited for those attacking her to charge in and then dodged, pulling out…not a wand, but a high-powered stun gun, running a continuous current between its two prongs rather than firing a one-shot double stringed dart, and used it with vicious glee on those who drew too close.

In moments they all lay on the ground, knocked senseless, save the big leader, who hadn't moved. Shiho bent down and put a hand on the head of one of their victims. Her face turned into a mask of astonishment. "I can't read anything about them! It's not like the interference this misdirection spell is making—they simply have nothing in them! They're not real!"

The boss laughed as all his minions disappeared the next instant. "That's right…you did pretty well for little girls, but those were just illusions. You can struggle all you like, but it doesn't mean anything…."

Vines shot from the ground and wrapped around all six of the girls, hoisting them up, bound and helpless. The man strolled towards them as they struggled. "These, too, are illusions…but even knowing that, if your will isn't strong enough to resist them, if it isn't stronger than my magic, it's just as effective as anything solid."

He stopped and turned to Erstin, looking the little blonde up and down. "Well…just children…but this one's growing up nicely…."

As he started to reach out a hand towards the frightened girl, Shiho's sharp voice suddenly snapped out, "Hey, you stupid goon!" As he turned to her in surprise, she continued, with a cold and deadly stare from narrowed eyes, "You may be in control now, since we're just children, unable to really use our HiME powers on our own. But we're aren't going to stay like this forever…we'll get free, we'll get our powers, we'll eventually grow up…and if you do anything to Ers- _chan_ or any of the rest of them, I'll make you regret it…before I'm through with you, you'll _wish_ you were dead…."

The man stared at her and then chuckled. "Quite a mouth on you, little girl. Come to look at you, you're not bad yourself…does that comment mean that you're volunteering to be my first plaything…?"

"That's…e…nough!" Arika screeched, tearing at the vines clutching her. "Don't touch my friends!" Then a blue pulse seemed to shine from under her shirt, and with a great heave she burst her bonds and surged towards their antagonist.

Arika barreled into the surprised man, throwing him back and into a wall. As he sagged, gasping…his form suddenly vanished.

"Eh!?" Irina cried as Arika picked herself up, looking around in confusion. "Is he…an illusion too!?"

A laugh began to sound again, from everywhere around them at once, many copies of the same voice, layered in waves as it filled the air. "That's right!" a similar voice agreed. "When you're playing with illusions, you can't trust your eyes…your ears…or anything at all…so…how long can you last like this…?"

A number of copies of the big appeared around them now, all laughing in near unison, just off from synchronization and making the effect all the more eerie. "So, my little pets! Let's have all sorts of fun!"

Arika was still the only one free of the shrubs, and so they all began to converge on her. Then finally one came charging in from behind her and one from the side simultaneously, and Nina managed to get herself loose just in time and jumped in, knocking Arika out of the way of both. Arika recovered quickly, thanking Nina, and the two went back to back as the illusions began to circle them. "W-what can we do, Nina- _chan_?" Arika wailed.

"Just fight for now," Nina snapped. "It takes a lot of mana to keep up an illusion this large. The more they do, the harder it is to maintain it!"

As the pair desperately battled the illusions, beating them back and making them poof away and watching more arrive to take their places, Yue was fighting in her own way. Her head was now crammed full of magical knowledge that she had been studying for several weeks, but there was something even stronger niggling at the back of her brain—something she couldn't quite remember, couldn't quite understand, but somehow, this scenario was familiar to her. But that half-remembered feeling was no help, so she pushed it aside and struggled against her bindings, gripping her wand tightly in her hand.

 _('Mana…it's just like Nina-_ san _says…a lot power goes into making this illusion. If I can get enough mana, however…I can break it!')_

She focused all the magical power she had into her wand. She felt it wouldn't be enough, and muttered incantations under her breath, trying to will more power to herself, pull it from somewhere….

A light began to flow from Arika's pocket, distracting her. She reached in and pulled out…a small object, about the size of a playing card. _('This…oh, right, I forgot about it…this is one of those things Yue-_ chan _dropped when she first arrived…after the…accident…._

 _('It's glowing! And…a picture is appearing…? Is this…Yue-_ chan _…?')_

The power flared to her, and Yue snapped out, _"Se Dissolvant, Circumstantia Falsa!"_

There was a ripple in the fabric of reality, and the illusions all broke apart and shattered. The vines clutching the remaining girls disappeared, dropping them, and the normal evening look to the world around them returned. They all glanced around in wonder and a bit of confusion. "I-is that it?" Erstin said. "But…where is the one who was creating it…?"

"There!" Simultaneously, Shiho and Nina spotted and pointed at the small figure at the head of the alley they had been misled into. Nina began to charge towards him, but, cursing, the short, heavily-clothed man hidden by the trench coat and wide-brimmed hat made a gesture and disappeared in a puff of theatrical smoke.

"He's gone!" Irina said, heading to the street and looking around for him. "The question is…will he be back?"

"Who knows?" Nina growled. "Probably not for some time, at least. Broken illusion magic is all the harder to use, after all…."

"The real question is: what was he after?" Shiho noted. "A random attack against six Coral HiME? Or…was there some reason…?"

"We won't find that out now. We might as well head back to the Academy." Nina started that direction.

 _('Hmm…now the picture's gone…it's all blank again….')_

Nina turned back to Arika, who had been gazing, lost, at the card. "What are you looking at?" she snapped. "C'mon…we need to get home."

"R-right!" Arika pocketed the card and moved to join Yue, patting her on the back as they followed their companions down the street. "You know, Yue- _chan_ , that was pretty awesome! You're really learning magic pretty well!"

"N-no, it was nothing, really…."

 _('That card means something, I think…but until I know what, I…I just can't give it back yet….')_

8-8-8

The man hurried away—in ironic contrast to his primary illusionary avatar, he was a genetic dwarf, not much more than a meter tall. He glanced back over his shoulder towards the girls. "Sheesh," he muttered. "It looks like I got away, but I wonder if it was worth the money to even tangle with those. Little HiME aren't supposed to be much of anything without their Robes…what was with those girls?"

He glanced back forward as he turned a corner and ducked into another alley…and squawked in alarm and abrupt pain as the butt-end of a staff came out and hit him in the chest, then pushed him onto the ground. He glanced up in terror at the white-and-silver-clad figure above him. "M-Mary-Katherin Black…the Third Pillar of Garderobe!" he identified her in fear.

Mary-Katherin glanced over her shoulder as Fumi wheeled Mashiro up behind her. "Well, here is the culprit, Mashiro- _sama_ …what do we do with him?"

She moved aside to allow the little girl to fall under the dwarf's gaze while keeping her staff on him. The man, a skilled illusion mage but not even a match for six unclad baby HiME, made no attempt to struggle before the odds against him here. He gazed up in wonder at that terrifyingly adult child's face and the sweet smile that adorned her lips. "Hello, there. You must be Ragnus Blatch, the old circus meister. It's a shame that you've fallen on such hard times you've had to take up petty criminal activities here in Wind Bloom. So, tell me, Mr. Blatch, why you decided to target six of my precious students…?"

"I-it was just a job!" he squeaked. "I get job requests from a guy in these parts, he keeps me connected…i-it's just small-time stuff and everything, and he for some reason had a thing for these six girls and needed me to mess them up a little!"

"Your friend is in the habit of 'messing up' my HiME?"

"N-no! Well, the rumor is, he's…he's got a little sugar doll or something inside your academy…he does favors for her, kind of thing, and she sells him stuff…."

Mary-Katherin glanced at Mashiro, who held up a hand. "Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Blatch. I'm afraid we'll have to hand you over to the requisite authorities now. However, for your cooperation, in return we will keep the details to a minimum and not inform them that the chief's daughter was one of the HiME you assaulted." The man's eyes bulged out and he fainted upon hearing this news.

A short time later the three were making their own way through the dark back towards the academy, minus their prisoner. After walking in silence for some time, Mary-Katherin said to her young chief, "Mr. Blatch is a _very_ skilled illusionist…far too skilled for a young novice mage like Yue to break all of his illusions at once. But at her casting of the spell, there was a flare of power directly from the magical plane…the power of an Archmage's contract. What was that about, I wonder…?"

Mashiro giggled. "Well, I've tried to put a cap on everything of Yue's from before…Arika- _chan_ 's misplaced spell simply made it easier to do so. But things that have been capped off can build up quite a bit of pressure."

"You're hamstringing her? On purpose?"

"I'm simply sealing up everything from before that she doesn't remember anyway. And, from working so hard under such a handicap…her strength is only going to grow in the meantime, and when she gets it back…."

"Yes, I see."

After a few more moments of silence, Mashiro added, "Mary-K- _san_ , would you subtly leak what we learned today to Shiho- _chan_?"

"To Shiho- _chan_? If she learns…."

"She'll want to get down the line to who's _really_ responsible for this. It'll be interesting to see where the billiard balls drop."

"Right, I see…."

F I N

 _Author's Note: Character Introduction: Irina Woods and Mashiro Kazahana_

 _The HiME (Otome) adventures continue. This was a semi-unique one…I am following the stories of the harassment following Arika, but in this case around Yue and any of their friends as collateral damage as well, and there were too many pieces missing from the 'stolen uniform' arc to really try and adapt it, so I added this little more magic-world based mini-adventure and gave Yue a chance to do something cool. I've decided to end the chapter here, and, unusually, tie up a few loose threads and remaining thoughts about the matter next time before transitioning into the dreaded Field Trip._

 _Mostly, I wanted to show that this attack on them is not from the Obsidian Star or anything…these are, as it were, domestic problems. So I had to play with the ending thoughts and commentary to avoid misleading my readers into thinking that something like that was targeting her. After all the Obsidian Star trouble recently, I don't really want to make everything think there are even MORE of them right here causing problems. This is a brief respite from them…._

 _Ah, and the hint of Arika's inherited gem was briefly shown. That will be another thread for next chapter._

 _N ow we address Irina Woods, in the original My-Otome the fourth wheel of Arika's friends. A would-be scientist girl, she one of the kinds of characters Caria Spetzer was modeled after. A good friend and a complete mecha_ otaku _, she's one of My-Otome's cooler secondary characters. As mentioned briefly earlier, she is the reason Shiho Sannomiya was brought in to this story—following the MSN Yue's lost memories arc, the school pairs in twos rather than threes and none of the remaining girls were worth pairing with someone like Irina. So, in comes Shiho to join Irina and make a good final third pair._

 _A nd then there's Mashiro Kazahana, the enigmatic head of Fûka Academy. Unlike most, I kept Mashiro in her My-HiME incarnation, as the mysterious super-aware child girl was a much cooler character than the brat (fake) princess of My-Otome. While this change leaves several plot holes in the pieces of the My-Otome story I'm adapting, she'll make up for it with her mysterious machinations. Like in My-HiME, she is something other than human, as mentioned by Natsuki…another_ mazoku _, like Alyssa? No, no…something else…heh hehe…. In any case, she's deeply involved in a lot of goings-on throughout the world of Arcanus Myrror, and her machinations will have far-reaching effects for our heroes and the entire land…._

 _Well, moving on…time to begin the Field Trip…._


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Four: Mahô Shojô Yue, Part Four: Beauty in the Wilderness

"So what was that blue light?" Yue asked.

Arika looked at her, confused. "Back there," Yue pressed. "In the alley, when you burst free, there was a blue glow from under your shirt…something magic. That was…the amulet you wear, right?"

Yue had been living with Arika for some time now, and had seen the mesmerizing necklace, the gold-wrapped huge blue gem on the end of the fine chain. However, Yue, far from intrusive, politely was silent on the matter. Now, however, the item had caught her interest.

Arika fished it out and held it up. "Ah…did it? I didn't even notice…but I guess it's not the first time it's helped me. This belonged to my mother, who was a HiME before me…I think it's supposed to be related to the HiME GEMs in some way…."

Arika glanced away, staring wistfully at something beyond the material plane. "Did you know that, as a Crown HiME, she was the guardian of Nina- _chan_ 's mother, the late Queen of Wind Bloom? She—they, both of them—sacrificed themselves to save us just after we were born, when the castle came under attack by mysterious forces. I saw a portrait of both of them, once, in the castle, when I came and visited Nina- _chan_. She was wearing a gem of this same brilliant blue…the 'Blue Sky Sapphire'…."

"I see…." Yue considered the girl and her gem. _('There's still so much I don't know about the HiME…especially those GEMs…maybe it really is….')_

8-8-8

Miya stared at the mirror in the bathroom, shivering slightly. This was becoming a problem…if she kept this up, she would….

Shiho suddenly stepped up to the faucet next to her and started to wash her hands. "Miya- _chan_ ," she cooed in a delightful voice. "Just the person I was looking for…."

As Miya recoiled from the sight of her, Shiho continued, "Lots of interesting things going on recently…and lots of little problems, too…creatures in the pool…HiME attacked in town…so many problems…."

"Y-yeah…."

"Ah, and did you know that Nao- _onee-chan_ runs with the 'Stripes' gang here in town? They just found and punished a man operating in their territory recently, petty criminal stuff, selling items stolen from our academy, for instance. And he even, it turns out, was responsible for setting the illusionist on us while we were in town. I guess justice does exist…."

She suddenly turned and pressed her face in close to Miya's. "I don't care what little games you play with that man, or that you answer to the beck and call of that other witch. But when your playful little games cause problems for my friends…I get annoyed. And if you do anything to hurt Arika- _chan_ , or Nina- _chan_ , or even Yue- _chan_ or the rest…you'll find out just how frightening I can be. And you will wish for a swift end to the pain…."

Then she whirled around, wiped her hands off on the provided towels, and headed outside. Miya, shivering, collapsed to her knees. "B-but I've already…got the next…."

8-8-8

"Here we are…the BEACH!" Arika, tearing off her gym clothes to reveal her swimsuit underneath, went charging for the surf.

And then an arrow with a wide, dual-pronged head struck her, pinning her to the ground (the prongs perfectly surrounding her body, not piercing it). "Goodness," Yukariko murmured, dressed in her Robe, lowering her bow. "You should learn, Arika- _chan_ …not only shouldn't you strip so easily, especially with men present…but you're here for your overland test, and it has nothing to do with the sea!"

"B-beach…" Arika whined, futilely stretching her hand towards it.

Mary-Katherin sighed as she moved up next to Yukariko. "I know she's overenthusiastic, Yukariko, but you don't have to punish her every single time…."

It was quite a gathering. The entire Coral class was here, dressed in their gym clothes. The five pillars were all present as well, all dressed in beachwear, with Fumi, as was her primary job, pushing Mashiro in her wheelchair. Mashiro, for her part, was not dressed in a swimsuit, but was wearing a light t-shirt and shorts, so at least she wasn't formally dressed. In addition, all dressed for the beach, were the top three Pearls, Akane Soir, Chie Hallard, and Nao Zhang, and even his Majesty, King Sargon Blan de Windbloom. With the king, the three comprising the 'men' Yukariko was referring to, were two butlers in suits with sunglasses, almost ruining the beach party atmosphere of the gathering.

"Now, we shall explain for those who were not here at the academy last year," Natsuki announced to the group. "This is the Overland Survival Exercise, sometimes referred to by the students as the 'Field Trip'. Your performance in this practical skills test will have a significant effect on your grade for this trimester.

"We are on land carefully preserved by the crown of Wind Bloom and provided for this express purpose every year. You shall be divided into pairs—rather than your usual roommate and class partner, the pairs will be determined randomly. Your objective is travel from this location to the goal…located here, as you can see on the map."

During all this demonstration she showed said map to the students, pointing out their goal and the land around them, quite topographically well-represented with the forest, mountains, and rivers running through it, as well as the sea encompassing the region, all quite distinctly portrayed. Akane Soir, the #1 Pearl, stepped forward and continued, "Over the course of the journey, you will have to take care of your own needs for food and survival. In addition, every evening each team will be visited by one of the teachers or Pearls, and you must also prepare an exquisite meal for her…after all, as a servant of her master, a HiME must be able to provide for him or her under any circumstances, so you will be graded on how well you can cook under these conditions."

"Besides your backpacks full of the standard gear you need, you have two safety devices," Mark-Katherin explained next. "This bracelet has a tracking beacon in it, so that we can find you at any time. This is a wilderness, so if anything dangerous happens and you can't go on safely, please press this button on the bracelet. It will send an emergency distress code to us, and we will come and retrieve you. Doing so will give you an incomplete grade on the test, so it's only for emergencies, but remember: your lives are certainly more important than any test. Secondly, this injection will work with the nanomachines in you to help against any illness you contract or poison you might encounter, so use it first if that sort of trouble comes."

It was already late afternoon—they had made the trip later on in the day to begin with. Drawing attention to the time of their arrival, Midori continued, "You'll begin tomorrow morning. You'll now have a _little_ time to play around, but I suggest you get to sleep early tonight…tomorrow things are going to get _pretty_ interesting for you. But first, time to determine your partners…."

Arika and Erstin were quite pleased to be partnered up. Nina and Tomoe, Corals #1 and #2, were decidedly neutral to each other about their pairing. Irina seemed resigned to being partnered with Miya. And….

"It seems we get to hang out together for a few days," Shiho told Yue cheerfully. "Well, I could do certainly do worse…."

As Arika finished celebrating with Erstin, she again turned back to the sea and prepared to charge, but was again brought up short suddenly. "Well, _Arinko-chan_ ," he told the girl, calling her by his personal nickname for, 'Ant-Girl' or 'Anty'. "This is your first time for the 'Field Trip'. Are you excited?"

"I'm not 'Arinko'!" Arika snapped back, her antennae-like braids rising and waving in tune to her anger. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yes, yes," he said soothingly. "Well?"

"I _am_ excited!" Arika agreed. "I'm not much for studying books or magic, but I know about this! It should be a lot of fun!"

The man chuckled and turned to Yue. "And you…you're Yue- _chan_ , right? Arika- _chan_ 's relative? I hear you're more of the librarian type…."

Yue shrugged noncommittally. Shiho giggled. "Don't count her out, your Majesty. She studies fiercely, but she's also a lot more athletic than she looks."

"Well," Shizuru murmured, joining the conversation. "We know what to expect from most of our girls here, but for these two new ladies…we'll be interested to see how you do…."

Again, the narrowed eyes of Tomoe Marguerite observed the scene from the shadows.

8-8-8

The Corals all bedded down in massive tents on the beach, while another tent held all their belongings. The rest, privileged leaders, were back in the town at the edge of this reserve, resting in high-class hotels.

As the girls slept soundly, one shadowy figure stole into the tent of gear and rifled through two bags….

8-8-8

The girls set out on their journey, each pair separated out to different starting paths and at different times so that they weren't moving as one concentrated mass.

"I hate this stupid test," Shiho muttered as she panted along. "Why on earth are we even doing this? When we're HiME, wearing our Robes, we won't have to worry about hiking…why can't we just wear our Robes while we do this?" And she glared up at Yue, who was ahead of her. "And you're almost unfair, Yue- _chan_. You _are_ a little librarian, but you're unusually athletic for such a small bookworm…."

Yue glanced back at her briefly. "Hmm. Sorry," was all she could manage, but the thought was niggling at her as well: what pieces was she missing? Logic suggested that a small, petite, underdeveloped girl like her, particularly one who seemed more prone to books and philosophy than sports, should have little strength for activities like this, but it felt as if hiking was not a particularly big deal for her. In fact, the muscles for hiking seemed much more used than the muscles she had to use swimming or in her regular P.E. activities….

"Ah, no, sorry," Shiho said as Yue's thoughts churned. "I don't mean anything by it. It just makes me wonder what kind of life you led before…."

"You know, if you save your breath and avoid talking, you might find the going easier," Yue commented.

Shiho smiled slightly to herself. " _Hai, hai_ ," she sighed, letting her conversation fade.

The separate teams all made their journeys, marked with varying degrees of success in navigating the terrain. They had all been provided with maps of the area, but there were no actual trails anywhere in this wilderness, so they were forced to interpret the signs both of the map and the weather and geological patterns in front of them in order to find their way.

Although every scene showing Nina and Tomoe presented them with their backs to each other, the two brilliant students seemed quite in accord with their interpretations of said signs, taking long detours to avoid what they knew to be even longer delays through troublesome terrain. Other teams less knowledgeable about outdoor lore, however, such as Irina and Miya and even Arika and Erstin, found the going difficult and slow and had to double back several times. Their progress seemed small….

And Yue acknowledged her own luck in her current companion as Shiho hunkered down and put a hand to the ground to read it—and, in fact, pretty much the recent history of the entire region. "There was heavy rainfall this past week," she murmured. "This caused that stream to swell up, and a landslide to break down the cliffs at that point. This way is blocked to us. However…." She turned and put her hand out the other direction. "…This way should be clear. That same landslide opened up what otherwise would have been an impassable wall for us."

She sighed as she stood up. "Nowhere to go but onward, then," she muttered, and Yue started after her.

8-8-8

Unluckiness seemed to dog Arika's and Erstin's journey. As they moved through some tall grass, a snake suddenly leapt up and bit Erstin on the leg. Arika rushed over to her friend as she fell to one knee in pain and the snake slithered off. "Ers- _chan_! Are you okay!? Was it poisonous!?"

"I-I'm okay," Erstin said bravely, trying to stand and shunt off the pain. "I'm already slowing you down so much, Arika- _chan_ , since I'm not strong or athletic like you and Nina- _chan_. I can keep going like this…."

She attempted to go on, but it was less than an hour before she stumbled and almost fell along their path. As Arika ran to her again, she could see the girl was red-faced, breathing heavily, and burning with fever.

"Ers- _chan_ , you're definitely sick! It was definitely poisonous! What about your antidote!?"

"I-it's all right…I already injected it during our last break. I'll be fine."

Arika glanced up at the sky. "It's almost evening…we should at least stop here for the night. After you rest, you should be better by morning, right?"

"Y-yeah…I'll be fine…."

Nevertheless, Arika insisted Erstin rest while she prepared the camp, set up their fire and sleeping bags, and even attempted to cook the meal that would be consumed by them…and their examiner….

Speaking of which, we'll investigate some of the teams and their dinner presentations.

Tomoe's eyes shone as Shizuru arrived to partake of their meal. She had painstakingly laid out a small table with tablecloth, fine plates and silverware, and even a three-pronged candlestick for ambience, and lined the plates with what meager food she had been able to scrounge up and painfully arrange into aesthetic perfection. Nina seemed neutral to Tomoe's desperation of preparation, not even commenting upon the fact that the majority of what they had managed to get was given to Shizuru while their own plates were nearly bare. Shizuru noticed, however, and silently raised an eyebrow at the treatment…although she felt it wasn't her duty to question it if it wasn't brought up, and gratefully partook of what was presented to her.

Chie Hallard, the #2 Pearl, visited her room attendant, Irina, and her companion Miya, and pretty soon all three were engaged in wild fits of laughter because of the rather suspect mushrooms the two girls had acquired for their repast.

Shiho, of course, had the talents to avoid such a fate, and once again Yue stood back and let her gifted companion take charge. Of course, Shiho's somewhat finicky and squeamish nature prevented her from making use of all the food sources that could be acquired in the wild, but nonetheless she was able to arrange a fine fruit tray from local berries with other food of the vegetable persuasion and even fried some far healthier mushrooms for Mary-Katherin when the Pillar arrived.

Mary-Katherin observed the repast appreciatively. "Your Psychometry serves you well, Shiho- _chan_. You can do almost anything you put your mind to with that talent, of course. But I wonder how much your natural abilities would show if you didn't use it as a crutch so much…."

It was a subtle lecture Mary-Katherin and some of the other teachers often gave Shiho, trying to encourage the somewhat lazy girl to take the time to learn naturally rather than always using her Psychometry as a shortcut in reading and test-taking. Shiho merely shrugged. "Well, in this case, I hope you don't expect me to not use my talent in order to impress my master that I am cooking for. After all, in my opinion, since I'm supposed to be a diligent servant as a HiME, it would be disrespectful to my master to care for her without using _all_ of my abilities…."

Their supervisor conceded the point, and they enjoyed the meal quietly.

And then Nao settled down at Arika and Erstin's campsite. "So, I get you two, eh? What do you have for me this evening?"

"Ah! Nao- _onee-chan_!" Arika greeted her enthusiastically. "Look I prepared these for you!"

Nao stared in horror at the plate Arika held up. The round objects of…whatever on the plate are actually better not further described. "Zero points," Nao said instantly, and turned to go.

"Eh!?" Arika cried in dismay. "Nao- _onee-chan_ , you can't just leave without even trying it! That's unfair! I know it doesn't look great, but it tastes fine, honest!"

Nao sighed and half-turned back to Arika. "Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll give you a couple points for effort, but it's obvious that that _thing_ you have there is hardly edible. You can't really expect me to eat that…."

Arika looked at Nao with a pouting lip for a second, then suddenly started and pointed up at the air. "L-look! Your arch-enemy, the Flying Spiral!"

As Nao stared up in shock, looking for the mysterious enigma Arika had declared, the younger girl stretched one of her…items of maybe-food, dangling on a stick, and let it drop into the open mouth of the Pearl. In surprise Nao swallowed it instantly…perhaps saving her life. She stood there, wide-eyed, for several seconds before the sensations caused by this strange thing forced a horrified scream out of her.

8-8-8

"You're awful quiet, Yue- _chan_ ," Shiho remarked as they curled up in their sleeping bags and stared at the stars overhead. "You don't talk much at all, do you? I mean, obviously, you were never a chatterbox before, but since it's just the two of us…the silence is more keenly felt."

Yue stared silently for a few seconds before replying, "You, on the other hand, are talking far more on this trip, Shiho- _san_ …."

Shiho chuckled. "Maybe it's self-defense. I was always quiet before, especially when I first came here. I've always had problems…talking to people. It's only after Arika- _chan_ got here that I really started opening up, even to Irina- _chan_. There's just something…inviting about her, something warm. It's something I've never felt in anyone before."

After a few more moments, Yue replied, "Yes…I know what you mean. She's…far too rambunctious for my tastes…but even so, I can't help but find her presence comforting."

"Hmm. She's the only person I've ever met…who wasn't scared of me…."

Yue glanced over at her companion questioningly, and Shiho, sensing the shift, continued, "I've had powerful Psychometry since the day I was born. I was peering into the hearts of my parents from the time I was a baby, without even realizing I was doing it. When I first began to talk, not understanding anything, I told freely about everything I had read, all their secrets they had kept buried in their hearts, and it…frightened them to death. They loved me, as their child, but they were also terrified of their daughter, from whom they could hide nothing. Even before I came to Garderobe, I was raised in special education facilities and was constantly exposed to items that suppressed my magic. The power wielded by people like the HiME, weapons capable of destroying whole cities are terrifying…yet adults are even more afraid of someone who can learn all about them, expose their deepest, darkest secrets, see into the very reaches of their heart and psyche, all with a simple touch.

"I was told by all my teachers and educators that my power was a gift, that I should be grateful for it, that I was special…but they couldn't lie to me. I understood quite well that anyone who got close to me was frightened and broken by my merest touch. I purposefully made a demon out of myself, to keep everyone else apart, to drive them away, everyone, so that they wouldn't get close enough to be hurt by me. My power existed only to keep me separate from everyone.

"Until I came to this school. Irina- _chan_ , Ers- _chan_ , even Nina- _chan_ …they all accepted me for who I was. Nina- _chan_ especially. She has a lot of secrets to hide, keeps a lot bottled up, but she has too much pride to let a girl like me scare her, and so she dealt with me more than all the other girls simply to prove the point. It wasn't…real acceptance…but the next best thing. She felt that she was as special as I was, and so we should treat each other as equals. She acknowledged me that far, and dared me to think differently. And then the teachers all supported me, too…Shizuru- _onee-sama_ …Mary-Katherin- _sensei_...Midori- _sensei_ …they all willingly took my hand, even knowing of my power. They encouraged me to put it to use instead of being burdened by it. I owe so much to all of them.

"But still, it was only enough to make me feel adequate…until Arika- _chan_ showed up. She's only been here a few months herself, but she's completely absorbed all of us into her little group of friends and brought us all together. Even Nina- _chan_ , who somewhat resents her and is jealous of her for all sorts of reasons, respects her and cares deeply for her. From the minute she understood my power, she wasn't frightened at all…she was simply thrilled with it, and almost drove me nuts for a while pestering me to show it off. She is…light. Thanks to her, I've really begun to enjoy my time here at this school. You should feel privileged to be her 'relative', Yue- _chan_."

"Mmm. Yeah." _('I really am fortunate. I remember nothing of where I came from, where I was, how I got here…but Shiho-_ san _is right. Arika is a wonderful person, and the best friend I could have hoped to have gotten, despite all her flaws. I hope she's doing okay….')_

8-8-8

"You really admire Shizuru- _onee-chan_ , don't you, Tomoe- _san_?" Nina asked her companion blandly as they lay in their bedding.

"That's unusual of you," Tomoe returned in a similar neural and blank manner. "You don't usually ask those kinds of things of others." After a few moments of silence, she finally continued, "Well, of course I admire her. She is one of our pillars, a Crown HiME, a perfect example of everything we aspire to be. Is it wrong to admire someone like that?"

"No, it's nothing," Nina replied. "You're right, of course…forget I said anything."

8-8-8

And Arika sighed in her own bedroll. "Nao- _onee-chan_ is mean," she whined. "Giving us -10 points for the cooking portion…we'll have to do really well the rest of the way to make up for it." She turned to her companion. "How are you doing, Ers _-chan_?"

"U-Uhn…I'm okay, really. I'm sure…I'll be better tomorrow…."

8-8-8

But tomorrow dawned, and Erstin certainly wasn't much better. She was sweating profusely and barely seemed to possess the strength to walk. She insisted on continuing with Arika, and the peppy girl agreed only after taking her pack and Erstin's both as they journeyed.

"I-I'm really sorry about this," Erstin said again as they walked on. "I-I'm really slowing you down here…I-I've never been the most athletic…but now, I'm really holding you, a genius athlete, back from a great success…."

"N-no, don't worry about it!" Arika insisted. "You and Irina- _chan_ are the ones who have to help me out the most with studies! I have to depend on you guys so much…you have to do so much for me…it's only a little, but I can at least pay you back this much…."

Erstin smiled and shook her head. "No. You've already done plenty…for all of us. Only thanks to you, has Nina- _chan_ opened up so much…you're just…." And then she suddenly collapsed and lay there, gasping, her eyes closed.

"Ers- _chan_!" Arika hurried over to her and felt her forehead. "Y-your fever's gotten worse…aren't the nanomachines doing anything!? Didn't the injection help at all!?"

Ers struggled to open her eyes and look up at Arika. "I-I'm sorry…Arika- _chan_ …" she apologized again.

Arika fell silent, more afraid than she had ever been in her life. "S-should we press this?" she murmured, moving a hand to the security armlet/bracelet. "I hate to fail, but in this condition…."

Erstin was in no condition to continue, and the rain began to fall then, so Arika delayed her decision long enough to find some shelter and get her and Erstin both safely secured into it. Then, glancing up at the increasingly savage sky and then back down at her ever-worsening companion, she finally made up her mind. She clicked the button on the gaudy little armlet…and the lights that had hitherto been lit went out.

Arika didn't have a great understanding of the MagiTech, of course, but even she knew that this was exactly what was not supposed to happen. Panicking, she pressed Erstin's armlet next…and it, too, went out.

Arika glanced in fear at the sky above them. "N-no…Ers- _chan_ …what do I do now!?"

8-8-8

Arika cared for her friend as she could all through the night, but by the time morning came—morning still largely obscured by clouds and rain—Erstin still hadn't come around and improved her condition any. So Arika was forced into another difficult decision. Leaving Erstin wrapped up as best she could, she packed what supplies and necessities she needed and could manage and prepared to set out. "Don't worry, Ers- _chan_ ," she told the girl. "I'll find help, whatever it takes. Wait for me!" And she set out.

8-8-8

Nina and Tomoe glanced up at the pouring rain from their little shelter. "It's still not letting up," Nina murmured. "This is really going to make our travel difficult…."

Tomoe glanced over upon hearing a sound and pointed. "What's that?"

Midori, dressed in a bright green Robe, came dropping now in front of the girls. She was grim-faced as she observed them. "Nina- _chan_ …Tomoe- _chan_ …I'm afraid that our test will have to be postponed for now. You need to come with me back to base. I'll authorize your Robe materialization and add temporary flight protocols for the return. We ought to hurry."

The two stared at her. "What's the matter, Midori- _sensei_?" Nina demanded.

"Last night we lost the signals of Arika and Erstin—their locator beacons went totally silent. We searched the last location we got a signal from and found Erstin. She was deathly ill, but we were able to rush her back to Yôko for treatment, so she should be fine…but we still don't know what happened to Arika. And in this storm, it's all the harder to search for her."

As Nina stared, her usually passive face a wide-eyed look of shock, Tomoe murmured ruefully, "No…that's terrible…" and turned her face away…but, unseen by either of the other two, her lip quirked up in a savage smile.

8-8-8

The teachers, Pearls and all the rest returned, having rounded up the various girls in this moment of crisis. Shiho was among the last to touch down, and she immediately charged through the milling swarm of girls and up to Natsuki, Shizuru, and Mary-Katherin, who were discussing the urgent matter with Sargon. "What happened to them!? What's going on!?" she demanded breathlessly. "Where's Arika- _chan_!?"

"We don't know yet," Natsuki sighed. "Erstin Ho was in no condition to travel, so when their beacons stopped working, Arika probably took it upon herself to go find help and headed out alone. There's no telling where she could have gotten to by this time…and the rain makes it difficult to search…."

"Then what are we wasting time for!? Why aren't we out looking for her!? This kind of terrain gets really dangerous in this weather! Without the ability to summon her Robe, even Arika- _chan_ could be in great danger all by herself! This is…."

"That's enough, Shiho- _chan_ ," Mashiro suddenly cut in as she rolled up with Fumi behind her as usual. "We are well aware how dangerous this is for her. But right now, the safety of _everyone_ is top priority. And the HiME, especially the Pillars, cannot be scrambled on sovereign soil on a short moment's notice."

"Then hurry up and authorize it!" Shiho barked, turning to Sargon. "At the very least, let me go search for her! My ability is the best thing here for it! Arika- _chan_ could be…."

"I intend to," Sargon insisted quietly. "But it isn't that easy. I'm not a dictator. You know very well, Shiho- _chan_ , that the HiME, even the Pillars of Garderobe, are viewed as WMDs. Permitting them to scramble over our soil outside of regularly scheduled events would cause a huge uproar amongst the representatives of the major nations on the Garderobe Council, perhaps some of the officials from their home countries, and even some of my own aides would protest the matter…."

" _I don't give a damn about any of them! One of my friends is seriously sick and the other is completely lost, and until I know they're_ _ **both**_ _going to be okay, all those 'officials' can go to hell!_ "

Mary-Katherin, stuttering, began to scold Shiho for her language, but the girl's deathly stare didn't waver from the king's blank face. Finally Nina and Yue wandered up from behind. Nina met her father's gaze as well. "Please, father," she pleaded.

"The thought comes to mind, 'It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission'," Yue commented. "While normally I would not condone that attitude, when lives are on the line, I think that could apply here. I have a lot of faith in Arika, but…I wouldn't think of risking a friend's life because of convenience. Please, your Majesty…Mashiro- _sama_ …let us all go look for her…."

Mashiro smiled slightly and glanced at the king. "Well, this is certainly quite a pickle we're in…moving forward will cause us a lot of headaches in the future. But can we really say no right now? I, for one, am quite find of Arika- _chan_ …."

The king sighed, but with a smile. "Well, no one can accuse three concerned classmates of being an invading army. And since three students can't do this on their own, I can at least permit two authorities on short notice—MK and Midori- _chan_.

"And I'm going, too. Makita, Kunieda, prepare my boat. The HiME can search the land and sky quickly. I'll hit the sea and search the coast…."

8-8-8

Arika made her way through the forest at her hurried pace. She was a great force of nature…she didn't know the way she needed to go, the way she could go, but she knew that, wherever that was, she had the strength to get there.

Now if only she could find the direction….

She climbed her way onto the top of a cliff face, a wide, flat outcropping overlooking the sea. A large mound of stone with a yawning opening in its face was the only feature of the terrain. Arika stared at it for a second before turning to head back into the woods and find another detour in her route—after all, the cave wasn't of any importance to her. Then, however, the briefest hint of a sound caught her ears. It sounded like it was whisper, a soft voice calling her name. She turned back, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

She moved forward carefully, approaching the cave. As she poked her head into the narrow opening, there was a pulse from her brilliant blue necklace. Then there was a rumbling that forced Arika back and out of the narrow cave. She fell to her rump and stared at the inky blackness that began to waft, smoke-like, from the cave. Finally it assumed a pure black, nearly-human form. " _At long last, I have awakened_ ," it muttered. " _The darkness in the wind has revitalized me…and the pulse of mana has given the spark of life. I thank you, little child, for coming to my aid. Now, as your reward, you will be my first sacrifice…._ "

It raised a hand and began to stalk towards her, making walking-like undulating motions even as it drifted forward without legs. Arika quickly got to her feet and scrambled backward, but in mere moments she was backed up to the edge of the cliff. She turned and stared at the churning waters below. Then she glanced back at the figure as it began to charge towards her.

Screaming, Arika fell from the cliff and down towards the sea….

F I N

 _Author's Note: Character Introduction: Natsuki Kruger and Shizuru Viola_

 _Ayayay! Arika's in trouble! Not that this comes as any surprise to My-Otome vets, or people who have been reading my stories thus far. Cliffhangers like these are the staple of such fiction, after all…._

 _We are, of course, using the overland survival exercise from the original My-Otome. Since it split people randomly into pairs (or at least the school did) it was very easy for me to mimic the original, simply pairing up my duo to let them have some important moments. I'll address all the little things I'd like to address_ vites-fait _(that is to say, real quick…)._

 _In the original, Shiho Huit was the #3 Pearl and final member of the all-important Triad, and was also the Otome who visited Arika and Erstin's camp and suffered from Arika's cooking. Nao was #4, and quite happy with it, because she didn't want any of the responsibility of greater Otome positions…her dream was to use it to get a prestigious education, then marry a rich sap and live in comfort the rest of her life. Of course, the Otome had other plans for her. In any case, she was from the small nation of Artai, just like Nina, and so she had to do her best in order to have her presence funded by the nation, so she relaxed in her position. Pretty much the same here…and so I thought that, since I got rid of this Shiho, I should replace with her with someone else to be Pearl #3 so Nao can have her laid-back attitude. I considered adding Naomi Umegae from Shiho Sannomiya's ZKC, as she is a responsible older esper 'big sister' kind of figure to the Children. However, as I considered this portion of Arika's failed cooking, there wasn't anyone who would have the same properly humorous reaction to it…only Nao could even approach that kind of proper, 'Nope, I'm done' reaction to the sight of it. So I left her as a member of the Triad here, and she actually got to take the place of her archenemy Shiho in this suffering. Nao, you see, is a bit of a rebel, a brat, and a prankster type, but she is rather fond of Arika and Nina, despite thinking of them as idiots, so she takes care of them, and therefore she wouldn't be as wretched as Shiho was to them—as I showed here, she even offered Arika a couple points for effort because she felt sorry for her, but Nao doesn't like_ anyone _enough to try horrible food for them, and if forced to consume such horrible nightmares, she would punish those who did it to her. And to lampshade my replacement, of course, I had Arika use the same distraction she used on Shiho, citing the flying spiral, used originally because Shiho was queen of the spirals, and used here to remind us of the missing Shiho's presence. I love having my characters channel ideas from the original stories and such…._

 _We also get Shiho's (Sannomiya's) backstory a little more. Shiho's tragedy in ZKC is perhaps one of the reasons I always was so attracted to her character—Kaoru had it bad enough, wielding a level of telekinesis that made her a dangerous animal even at a young age, so she was forced to special facilities and the like. But Shiho was always viewed with even more fear and hate, because things broken by PK can be repaired, but things read by Psychometry, secrets of the heart, become hers forever. Her parents love her, but her mother, especially, couldn't deal emotionally with a child that read her every sentiment and suffered a mental breakdown and rejection of her because of it (after many years, she's recovered, and during visits to the Sannomiya family it is reduced to a matter of comedy that, to cope, her mother always says exactly what she's thinking anyway, no matter how rude or against proper etiquette it is). But ever since she was a tiny child, as she expressed, Shiho completely understood just how much fear and pain her touch caused and she sought to drive away everyone else, including, initially, her teammates, and only Kaoru's unstoppable optimism and friendship and, yes, love, overcame that scar in her…in stupid friendliness, Kaoru is rivaled by Arika, making that a good match, of course…. And, of course, since according to My-Otome lore Arika is only a recent arrival at Garderobe, I had to expand Shiho's recovery to include people like Nina (who_ wouldn't _allow even Shiho's powers to scare her off—she'd be too stubborn to avoid the girl, as that would be admitting a kind of defeat) and of course the wonderful teachers and leaders like Midori, Shizuru and MK._

 _Of course, we also got to see the 'evil' side of Shiho. Normally a harmless girl with a (in actuality) completely inoffensive power, despite its fear factor, Shiho will become terribly vicious if the safety of her friends is threatened. When she gets pissed off, nuking the enemy and letting God sort them out is priority number one. And few things anger her more than her precious friends, those important supports that have allowed her to recover a human heart, being threatened._

 _Well, next we get to see my adjustments of the My-Otome storyline that don't involve the Princess Mashiro, with Sargon moving into his important role. Although this is Yue's section, her chance to really show off won't come until the Act's conclusion…for just this moment, it's really Arika's show, and we'll see what I've done to pick up the pieces I've made…._

 _But first, this chapter's character introductions._

 _N atsuki is the second main character of the original My-HiME, and her importance came forth in My-Otome as the principal of the great Garderobe Academy. For many reasons the Otome form is preferred here—largely because, of the HiME universe characters I'm bringing in, most are more intrinsic to this My-Otome_ _rip-off_ _adaptation and so work better from that universe. So Natsuki gets to be the cool but mostly cameo leader trying to keep everything running smoothly as the boat of plot enters turbulent waters. Determined and strong, she will have an opportunity or two to show off, just like in My-Otome…._

 _S hizuru is Natsuki's best friend in both universes. In the original, despite her serene and majestic demeanor, she was actually a scary lesbian in deep lust with Natsuki. In My-Otome, however, with that amusing absurd anti-man angle to the Otome, their relationship was rather obviously a mutual love (and in the backstory, the amusing twist is that Natsuki shyly first hit on her_ senpai _when they were both in school). Naturally, this…unique appetite of hers is an integral part of her character. It made her frightening in My-HiME, and in My-Otome…well, as I've mentioned, as absurd as it was, the Otome lore made the lesbian relationships tolerable—not palatable, barely tolerable—but I've actually tossed out that absurd premise here. So, what is their actual relationship here, all that being said…? Well, to be safe and secure, it will simply be something that is never addressed. Make of it whatever you like._

 _In any case, Shizuru is a somewhat cool character, unflappable and wise, and she will, regardless, be a good support for her Natsuki and the rest of the academy._

 _So, that all out of the way, let's continue on with Arika's adventure…._


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Five: Mahô Shojô Yue, Part Five: Beauty in Danger

"Any word from the HiME, Makita?" Sargon asked they motored along not far from the shore of the vast wilderness. He wasn't paying much attention to their surroundings—after all, here they were at towering cliff faces, and so the odds of seeing anyone up there, if there was anyone, were fairly low, so he was hoping for news before they reached the next stretch that they could really observe.

"No," the black-haired butler manning the radio replied, frowning. "Not getting anything but static…something is interfering with our radio signal."

Sargon frowned. "Interference? There shouldn't be anything interfering with a radio out here—particularly one boosted by a HiME's magic. Only a more powerful magic could even do that." He shook his head. "We better be alert. This kind of complication is more than I wanted from this. Hopefully it's just some sort of temporary phenomenon we can laugh off, but…keep driving, Kunieda, but be careful."

"Of course, your Majesty," said the black-haired butler driving the boat.

As the trees on the cliffs above them broke, Sargon glanced up…just in time to see Arika begin falling from above. " _Arinko-chan_!"

Makita stood and reached into his coat pocket. He then cast his hand out of it in a sweeping gesture, releasing some sort of dust into the air. Arika's fall was briefly and softly slowed just enough that she landed in Sargon's arms without harm to either of them. However, Makita's clever trick did nothing against the shadow that swarmed next to the edge, looked, over and began raining bolts of darkness down upon them….

The creature observed as the figures and the pieces of the shattered boat disappeared under the water. It felt their life force, still strong, as they swam and flowed with the current away from it, deeper onward. " _That power…I must have it…we must have it. We will follow…go…to retrieve it…let us begin…._ " The creature gripped its chest and then pulled outward, and seven red orbs began to swirl out of it, gathering in the air and then forming into more definable shapes.

The first became a skeletal archer, a fire burning within it, two curved horns on its head jutting out from its skull. "Clinkz…goes my bones," the skeleton rasped.

The second orb formed into a humanoid mound of large boulders. "Tiny comin' in!" it declared.

The third orb exploded out into a more complicated shape…a blue figure, floating in the air a few feet off the ground, an inhuman helmet or mask covering its face, and a crackling string of electricity dangling from one hand. "I bring the spark of death," it chortled.

The fourth became a blue-skinned woman, scantily-clad and beautiful, but demonic, with horns, a barbed tail and bat wings adorning her otherwise perfect frame. "Your queen has arrived," she murmured sensually.

The fifth became a more elemental force, large and a roughly half-humanoid shape, with a head, featureless save the eyes, long arms and fingers, but no real body beyond its waist, which floated above the ground. "I return from the cold and the dark!" echoed its voice in the air around it.

The sixth orb became a large, meaty humanoid with blue-green skin and a shark's head. It carried a large anchor in one hand. It laughed. "A rogue tide carries me back!"

The seventh orb became a pink-skinned goblinoid creature carrying a staff, with black-and-white face paint and a series of tight, large and rigidly erect ponytails starting at its head and continuing down its neck and back for an impressive distance, creating the impression of a crest or a very large Mohawk. "My shadow leaps ahead!" it crowed.

The shadow observed them all. " _Clinkz…Tiny…Razor…Akasha…Kaldr…Tidehunter…Dazzle. You, souls of my collection…help me recover my power so that my freedom and release will be true…bring to pass the resurrection of Nevermore the Shadow Fiend_!"

And then, as one, the eight turned and began to move off into the darkening evening forest….

8-8-8

Arika awoke with a start. She quickly caught hold of her bearings. She was inside a cave, apparently, with a small fire flickering near her granting a measure of warmth. She was covered by a blanket, and she was with three other people—specifically the king and his two butlers, of course.

One was sitting Indian-style, staring at her (probably—he still had his shades on) and the other was standing like a statue at the entrance to their refuge, his hands clasped behind his back, staring out at the night. Sargon, leaning against a wall, his eyes closed, seemed to be asleep.

"W-what happened?" Arika said, glancing around in surprise. "W-where…?"

"We're not sure," Sargon murmured, opening his eyes. "It's been quite a trip. Especially for you, _Arinko-chan_."

"I-I told you not to call me that!" Arika insisted, her temper flaring.

The king chuckled and waved. "Sorry, sorry…Arika."

The girl calmed down and looked around. "What's happened, anyway? What are you doing here?"

"There was quite a fuss when you and Ers- _chan_ disappeared. Rather, when your locator beacons went out. So naturally we all had to come looking for you. I found you first…but as for that thing…I don't know what's going on…."

"Ers- _chan_ …Ers- _chan_!" Arika bolted up right and suddenly grabbed Sargon's arm. "What about her!? She was really sick, she…!"

"Calm down, Arika, calm down. She's okay. We found where you left her, first, and got her to safety. Now you're the priority." He chuckled. "And now _we're_ the priority. Something awoke up there…some sort of dark magic." He stood. "Some of your friends and the other HiME are out looking for you, so we have that going for us. But we can't depend on them solely…we have to get ourselves to safety."

"R-right…." She rose to join him.

"Makita! Kunieda! Let's go!"

The four carefully made their way out of the cave. A dark, winged form observed them, chuckling to herself. "Well…there are a lot of tasty morsels there…" Akasha murmured. "The Queen of Pain has found some new subjects to educate…."

8-8-8

Mary-Katherin touched down. "The last signal from the king was down the coast…and that unusual flare of mana came from near the same area. Somewhere around here…."

"There!" Yue cried from up ahead. "Down in the water!"

Nina and Yue glanced down from above while Midori carried Shiho so that she could test the water with her power. "His Majesty was here…and Arika, too. The boat was destroyed…by something terrible. They were carried away in the stream." She looked up and pointed, and Midori carried her back to the cliff near the cave. Shiho again began to test her power around and in the cave above. "They were attacked by some dark power…an Infernal. It was sealed in here until…something released it."

"Attacked!?" Nina demanded in shock. "Are they…what about…w-what about my father!?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think they're dead…." She rose and stared out across the coast. "They were carried by the current that direction. We better hurry."

"If his Majesty was attacked by something, this has become a far more serious matter," Midori put in. "I'll send a call back to Natsuki real quick, and we'll let her decide what to do on her end…we have to keep going."

And the five were off, moving at their top speed towards the uncertain destination….

8-8-8

The exceptional butlers Makita and Kunieda used their skills and handy devices to orient themselves back towards the instructors' base camp. Arika grew once again almost cheerful as they began to hike their way down. Sargon considered her with a small smile. _('She's such an energetic little thing…she doesn't have her mother's wisdom yet, but she's got her instincts and abilities…she'll become a fine HiME, just like her mother. And a fine companion of Nii-na-_ chan _'s….')_

Their advance was suddenly halted when a blue-skinned form lit in front of them, dropping from the sky with a fluttering of her bat wings. "What cute little toys I have," she murmured. "Kneel before your Queen of Pain, Akasha, and you may be fortunate enough to be made my subjects!"

Arika stared in shock, but Sargon, thinking more quickly, grabbed her shoulder and began to pull her back as the two butlers stepped forward and drew _katana_. "We only have one Majesty that we serve! Back, foul demon!"

"Hmm…energetic…foul demon, am I? I suppose I shall have to instruct you…on just how foul I can be…."

"Your Majesty, get out of here!" shouted Kunieda. "We'll hold her back! You and the _ojô-chan_ are in danger if you stay!"

"As you say," Sargon murmured and began to drag Arika away.

Akasha watched to two begin to run. "Don't run away," she scolded them and then unleashed a scream. Magically-enhanced sonic energy blasted away the two butlers and threw Arika and Sargon down as well. The GEM in Arika's ear shattered from the sound, as did a colorful stone in Sargon's signet ring. She began to move quickly towards that pair, but the two butlers once again leapt into her way. "Go!" Makita insisted.

Arika, who had begun protesting at the initial attempt to flee, rose and helped Sargon to his feet, and this time helped Sargon begin to hurry away.

They pelted down through the growth and foliage, leaving the sounds of battle behind them. "W-will they be okay?" Arika gasped as they hurried onward.

"They're well-trained, first-class butlers," Sargon assured her. "They are skilled and quite hard to kill. We'll see them again…but we need to make sure we get away first so they can regroup with us once they have escaped…."

There was a popping-like sound and a flash of blue in the trees above and behind them. "Oh, where have you gone, little pets?" the Queen of Pain murmured. "I'd like to play with you a little more…those two aren't any fun…."

"In here!" Sargon hauled Arika with him into a cave to their left as the bat-winged fiend began to swoop through the trees, calling for them. The man sighed. "Things aren't looking good," he muttered. "We certainly don't have the power to stand up to a demon like that…not as we are now. If only…."

The Queen began to once again let loose a high-pitched, disruptive scream, sweeping an area of the jungle around them and letting some of it wash over the cliff face where they hid. Rocks fell from above and down onto them. Then there was a flash of blue, and Arika's necklace began to emit energy as it came sliding of its own apparent volition from her shirt. It created a shield that safely repulsed the rocks raining down on them, and then remained for a few seconds afterward. Then two small, beautiful blue gems emerged from the crystal around her neck and floated in the air for a second before falling into her outstretched hand.

Akasha stopped her scream and stared. "What a pretty light," she murmured. "Well, shall I investigate that interesting glow…?"

Arika stared at the gems in her hand…as did Sargon. Arika snapped out of it first. "Maybe…we can get that power." She held them up to the king. "You know these, right!? They're Crown GEMs, aren't they?"

Sargon smiled slightly. "Yes, they are…the Blue Sky Sapphire, used by Rena Sayers, who was the HiME contracted to my late wife. Normally, a young HiME, a mere Coral, wouldn't have the knowledge, wisdom or magical power to activate a Crown HiME's GEM…."

"But desperate times, right? We need to hurry!" Arika put the blue stone in the vacant spot on her earring and reached for Sargon's right hand.

The king chuckled as he allowed Arika to insert the other stone. "Your teachers would be quite angry with me for making a contract with a young HiME, one far too young to become a Crown HiME. But, as you say, desperate times." As Arika stood erect, her work done, he announced more formally, "Arika Yumemiya, do you swear to serve me as my HiME, protecting me with your life?"

Arika nodded. "Mm-hmm. For now."

Sargon chuckled again, ignoring her qualification, then leaned down towards the girl. "Very well. Then, in my name, release your power."

He kissed the gem in her ear, and, too small to really see, data began to be displayed: 'A.Y., to S.B.d.W. Authorized."

Arika took a deep breath. "Materialize!"

Just as it had previously, the energy built around her as it took form, equipping her in the bizarre battle dress of the HiME. In this case it was largely pink, but with four 'tails' from the back instead of the usual two. The look of it was certainly…heavier, stronger-looking than her usual Coral Robe.

Akasha appeared before them. She took a moment to survey her prey as Arika turned to face her. "Hmm…."

 _('The dress is a different color compared to Rena-_ chan' _s')_ thought Sargon. _('Obviously, although she can wear it, she can't utilize its full power yet. We'll just have to hope it's enough.')_ "Go forth and battle for me, Arika Yumemiya. Show me a Dance Battle worthy of a Crown HiME!"

Arika charged in, slamming into Akasha and throwing her away. The two tumbled through the air and then swept away, each seeking purchase in the air through flight. Arika slowed down and righted herself, and then hovered carefully in the air. "Whoa! This flies pretty well!"

"Hmm…what an amusing pet!" Akasha responded, then hurled the dagger in her hand at Arika.

The girl dodged aside, then blinked in surprise as Akasha vanished. The next instant Akasha kicked her from behind, sending her flying again.

She hit, bounced, and rolled, then came up, grasping her side. A glance back to the cave showed her that Sargon was wincing and faltering, grabbing the same spot. _('That's right…as a Crown HiME, my life is now shared with his…I can't let myself be hurt….')_

The succubus came charging in at her again, Arika met her charge. A savage punch stunned the Queen of Pain, and Arika grabbed her shoulders and head-butted her in the face. Then she grabbed her by the wings and whirled around in circles, finally hurling her away.

Giving in to instinct, she called forth some of the power churning inside of her, straining to get out. The GEM on her ear began to report the operations again: 'Weapon authorized: Sword of Akatsuki'. A blue light shot from her chest and materialized in the air, becoming a double-bladed sword-like weapon. She grasped the handle in its center and turned to Akasha as the demon rose back into the air. The 'sword' enlarged into a massive weapon, each blade over twice the size of Arika herself, but she held it up easily in one hand, tucked against her side, as she floated into the air opposite the black queen. Her GEM once more displayed the data—'A.Y. B.S.S. – Bolt from the Blue' and began to count down as power built around Arika. Then she flashed forward, almost turning into a bolt of lightning and piercing Akasha.

The demon fell slowly to the ground, disintegrating as she dropped. "It seems the Queen…must abdicate…."

Arika turned triumphantly back to Sargon as he emerged from the cave. At the same time, leaning on their sheathed swords, a pair of roughed-up-looking butlers stumbled up next to them. Sargon chuckled. "Well done, Arika- _chan_. But we can't get too excited yet. That wasn't the monster that first attacked us…and that means that there could be more around…."

A hollow, chilling laugh—one that literally seemed to drop the temperature of the air around them—sounded from all sides. _"They are all around…they are everywhere…and they are here."_ A white apparition of ice coalesced on one side. Then a flaming skeleton archer faded into existence from another. A small mound of rocks landed from the sky and unfolded into a humanoid form. A bolt of lightning struck and turned into a swirling form of electricity on a fourth side. A great blue-green-skinned fishman came lumbering in from another direction. And finally a slight burst of light became a purple-skinned humanoid with a staff.

"U-um?" Arika offered as she crowded back to the three men…but still trying to protectively cover her new master. "This is…?"

A whirling object suddenly came whipping through the trees, scattering the gathered figures. The camera follows the missile as it swings back around to its source, showing Midori catch her quadruple-bladed poleax (two blades on each end of the pole). Mary-Katherin stands next to Midori, brandishing her own staff. "Well, well…" Midori chuckled. "You aren't our usual kind of opponents, but this should be fun, nonetheless…."

 _"Hmm…the Flowing-Wind Emerald…and the Shadowlight Moonstone….two of the original HiME GEMS stand before us."_ A black shadow-form semi-humanoid appeared in the midst of the other creatures. _"Interesting, powerful souls…you will be a joy to collect…. This will be swift, outnumbered as you are…."_

"Perhaps…or perhaps not." Natsuki suddenly stepped out from behind the other Pillars, and Shizuru emerged from the other side. At the same time, Akane, Chie and Nao touched down, already dressed in their Robes, and immediately after them came Shiho, Nina, and Yue, who stared at the cornered humans with concern.

"Oh? Reinforcements?" Sargon said. "Well, whatever happened to proper authorization…?"

"If the disappearance of the nation's monarch doesn't constitute an emergency, why, there must be no emergencies," Shizuru chuckled. "Well, in any case, what do we have here? Nevermore, the Shadow Fiend, an Infernal who collects souls, sealed away a thousand years ago. What has caused you to awaken at this time…?"

The shadow gave a haunting, echoing, hollow laugh. _"The darkness grows…the star burns…the worlds churn and boil to chaos…the fuel was gathered…the power sparked the flame…and now, all of you will be the first parts of my new collection, to speed my power on its way to full recovery…and this time, my collection will grow by leaps and bounds in the coming chaos…."_

"Not going to happen," Natsuki insisted, brushing at her hair. "Materialize."

Shizuru mimicked the phrase herself, and in a moment both women were clad in their colorful Robes as well. "Let's go!" Natsuki commanded, and the awaiting combatants all leapt into action.

Mary-Katherin leveled her staff at the skeleton, and a multi-colored ray of light shot its direction. The archer dodged aside and continued running from MK's attacks, finally fading out of sight in the middle of its flight. The silver-clad HiME glanced around warily for her invisible foe, then dodge aside as it popped into view on her left at the exact moment it started loosing flaming arrows her direction. She began to dodge and weave as its attacks began to come more and more quickly.

"Loose, my arrows!" the fiend crowed as it worked.

Finally, Mary-Katherin dodged one shot and fired another blast the undead's way, but it fell off the branch that had been its perch and disappeared halfway to the ground.

"I'll whip you into shape!" cried Razor as he advanced on Natsuki, his lightning whip crackling on many different levels. She dodged the whip strikes, holding no weapon in her hand, and dashed in to fight him hand-to-hand. A kick sent him bouncing back slightly, and she followed it up by conjuring a magic rune in mid-air and releasing a flurry of missiles from it.

In response Razor released a surge of electricity that flowed out from him in a ring. It caught the incoming magic and snuffed it and continued onward towards Natsuki, who was forced to retreat. He then raised his off hand and a new line of electricity suddenly sprang into existence between the two foes. Natsuki could feel her strength and energy being drained by that current, flowing down towards her opponent, and so she was forced to flee still further in order to break the line.

Midori dashed in and began to exchange blows with the bloated fishman, who actually met her poleax with the anchor he carried. He seemed sluggish and lumbering compared to the HiME, but his skin was thick and seemed to shrug off the strikes that she was able to land on him with good frequency. On the other hand, she was easily able to dodge and counter the swings of his fist or anchor, and neither seemed to be making headway offensively…until the man spat out a torrent of water at Midori that hit her and knocked to the ground harshly.

The ancient apparition, Kaldr, had no games in his own combat machinations. He fled instantly from Shizuru's offensive and launched various forms of ice and cold magic attacks at the violet-clad HiME. She dodged most of the missiles easily with her beautiful dance-like moves, but when she slipped in close to attack with her double-bladed sword he unleashed a wave of frost from himself, coating her and forcing back to recover from the elemental affliction. His mastery over ice made him difficult to approach….

The purple-skinned shaman named Dazzle stood back, chanting and weaving spells, causing shields to surround his allies and waves of light to course through them, healing wounds, making their already persistent resistance to the HiME all the more annoying…until Dazzle's weaving staff suddenly froze in place. The shaman turned in surprise to see strings wrapped around the staff, trailing back towards Nao behind him. "No fair playing games like that," the Pearl smirked. "Why don't you give us a try?"

Akane and Chie dropped on him from above, and with a mighty heave he broke free of Nao's threads and waved a spell around him, repelling all three white-clad girls. His chants continued as he turned his attentions to defending himself.

And Nevermore the Shadow Fiend launched himself towards Arika. _"You, girl, who awoke me…you shall be the first addition to my new collection…."_

"Get out of here!" Arika barked, shoving her male companions aside and dodging the opposite direction as a black orb of power screamed past her. After her previous assault her weapon had returned to the more normal size, and Arika could feel that, inexperienced with this Robe as she was, a great deal of her power was already used. She was largely forced on the defensive as the Shadow Fiend gestured, causing flames to shoot from the ground below her feet.

Nina, calling for her father, came running in to help even as the man and his two butlers (those two protectively keeping between him and the enemy) retreated back to the cave for cover. Shiho followed on her heels, calling Arika's name, and Yue, silently and with more restraint but no less determination, came in as well. However, a mound of rock suddenly leapt into their midst, scattering them. "Tiny smash!" the little rock-man howled as tore up the earth and hurled a wave of stones their direction.

They dodged and weaved around the stones, then Tiny leapt at Shiho. Nina moved to intercept, catching its form with her staff and pushing against it. As they struggled together, Yue unleashed a small volley of magic missiles, impacting the rock and knocking it off-balance. Shiho swept around behind, using her staff to upend the foe and send it tumbling. It gave a muted roar and slammed the earth again. A cloud of rocks engulfed it, and a moment later it emerged, somewhat larger than he was before. "My favorite quarry!" he growled, reaching over and plucking a small tree out of the ground. He used it to swat aside the stunned Nina, then plucked up Shiho and hurled her into Yue, sending them both sprawling.

Mary-Katherin watched warily as the flaming undead archer scurried in and out of sight, loosing flaming arrows her direction intermittently. Finally, she planted her staff, released it, and began to chant, spreading her arms out wide. Energy began to gather at the tip of the staff as her arcane words sounded.

Clinkz appeared and loosed a flaming arrow at the woman. It struck her side, cracking her Robe and scorching the area around the impact. MK winced but continued her chant unabated. Clinkz continued to fire his arrows and then duck back out of sight, not wishing to be a target for whatever spell she was powering, but MK took the hits stoically and simply prepared her spell. Finally her eyes flashed open and she clapped her hands together above the staff. "Moonshadow Flash!"

A pulse of shimmering black-white energy rippled out of the staff and struck the invisible creature, rendering it visible, throwing it back against a tree, and shaking it with powerful energy. Before it could recover, Mary-Katherin swept up her staff again and leapt at the creature. It turned its horned skull her direction as she rose above it, the end of her staff charging with new energy. A bolt of mana shot forth and blasted through the creature, creating a terrible crater in its chest. It slumped onto the ground, the flame around it dying out…and its bones crumbling and turning to dust.

Shizuru retreated from the frigid powers of Kaldr. "I am the Ancient Apparition," it intoned. "I was burying worlds in ice long before your kind conceived tools or fire. You, child, are but a speck in the history of the cosmos…."

"For such an impressive creature, you surely boast more than is proper," Shizuru returned with her knowing smile. "Or perhaps you are just as old as you appear, making you just as long-winded." She raised a hand and a magic circle appeared, producing fire to battle against Kaldr's cold. "And our fire has come a long way since our ancestors first tamed it."

"You seek to match my freezing cold with your weak fire? This magic is not even your strength…."

A further blast of ice poured forth from the spirit, engulfing both flame and HiME. Then Kaldr concentrated his force, compressing the energy of cold into a captivating sphere, and then exploded it. The mist of frost cleared, and…there was a particular lack of Shizuru, living or dead, in the kill zone.

Then the energy-charged snake-blade roped around Kaldr from behind. "Perhaps. But magic like that is very effective…as a distraction," the woman informed him sweetly. "Constrict!"

And the blade pulled taught, slicing the apparition to pieces.

Midori backed away from the fishman and considered him more carefully. "This is a tricky one. Looks like I need reinforcements." She reached into a pocket and pulled what appeared to be a small golden coin. She flicked it into the air. "Come, Gakuten-Ô!"

The coin exploded, creating a black rift in space-time, and a large red horse-like creature with a bladed tail-like mane emerged from the blackness with a scream. The hole closed behind it, and Gakuten-Ô gave another unnatural cry. Then its rear half flashed and transformed, changing from pseudo-flesh to pseudo-machinery, becoming a kind of chariot attachment. Midori leapt astride this strange combination beast-vehicle. She pointed her poleax at Tidehunter. "Let's go, Gakuten-Ô!"

The pair charged at the fishman. He dodged aside and swung his anchor around as they passed, but it clanged uselessly against one of the spinning iron wheels. The chariot-beast swept around in a pass and then stopped suddenly, releasing a whirlwind from one wheel towards the foe. It took the blast, struggling against it, and pushed through it as Gakuten-Ô came in again, blocking the slash from its mane-blade with that anchor.

As Midori and her mount made another pass, Tidehunter suddenly threw his hands out and raised his head in a roar. "Maelrawn!" he cried, and in response to his supplication a host of massive cephalopod tentacles burst from the ground. Gakuten-Ô was engulfed by tentacles and restricted, but Midori leapt out of their reach. She hurled her weapon at Tidehunter, but the fishman knocked it aside. Midori followed her weapon in, however, drawing two swords from behind her back, and she flashed past the massive fishman. He quivered and toppled forward slowly, the two great cuts making an X across his chest, gasping his last, and as he faded away, the tentacles and even Gakuten-Ô faded with him.

Razor summoned up a storm around him, a visible black cloud that hovered in his presence and began to emit constant flashes of electricity. Again Natsuki was forced to retreat from the attack, but she prepared to counter, drawing two large pistols from behind her and leveling them at her foe. She unleashed obvious elemental energy, rather than bullets, from the weapons, each shot turning into a shard of magic ice. Razor showed inhuman skill and power in dodging and deflecting the bullets with his whip of lightning.

They danced around their battle zone, both moving into the air to try and increase their maneuverability, Natsuki seeking to try and distance herself from Razor, and Razor seeking to get closer in order to make better use of his own tricks and electrical powers. Finally Razor's attacks forced Natsuki to move and retreat up against a cliff face. With his prey cornered, he began to swoop in for the kill.

Natsuki crouched against the rock behind her, then used it to push off, charging to meet the oncoming foe at high speed, much to the elemental's surprise. Then she snapped out an arcane word, and, in an instant, two magical circles appeared around the pair, one engulfing each. The next instant they had swapped places, but were continuing onward at their original speed and direction, and so Razor was forced to slow down and come to a rest against the cliff then turn to watch the swiftly-retreating Natsuki.

Before he could resume his pursuit, Natsuki opened her hands, dropping her guns, which vanished. She slowed but continued moving away as she turned back around to face Razor. "Activate: Imperium Silver Armament!" With this command, a massive cannon came into existence in her waiting hands, and she leveled the impressive-looking hardware at her foe. As Razor just began to recommence his own charge towards her, a nimbus of lightning causing him to accelerate, Natsuki barked the continuation: "Load, Silver Cartridge!" The back of the machine, its oddly-shaped 'stock', began to glow and revolve, churning with activated mechanisms. The light then began to progress in steps down the barrel as Razor continued approaching, and finally Natsuki fired, letting loose her gathered magical power.

The missile struck Razor instantly head-on, causing him to blossom out into a flower of jagged ice shards. The clump of ice fell in an arc continuing its forward motion, all the way to the forest floor, where it shattered, leaving no trace of the defeated spirit.

Meanwhile, the six students huddled together as Tiny's new weapon swept away the Corals and Dazzle's spells frustrated the attempts of the Pearls. "This is troublesome," Shiho murmured. "I guess our Robes just aren't able to stand up to elemental fiends of this caliber…."

"We can't just give up!" Nina barked. "Father…and Arika…they're counting on us to help them!"

"Nina- _chan_ is right," Akane Soir agreed. "We may simply be students of Garderobe, but we _are_ HiME. We were entrusted with supporting this mission, so we have to do our part."

"We should probably take out the rock golem first," Chie remarked. "It probably has a more exploitable weakness. Then we can all focus on overwhelming that strange mage."

"Right," Akane agreed. "Nao, Nina- _chan_ , Yue- _chan_ …you handle that shaman, keep him occupied enough that he can't use his magic to protect the earth elemental. Shiho- _chan_ …Chie and I will distract and try to hold him. While we do, try to get close enough to read it and see if you can find that weakness."

There were a variety of acknowledgments with varying degrees of enthusiasm. They leapt into action, throwing their spells and attacks at their foes.

Chie and Akane danced around Tiny, using their flight to dodge his attacks and firing magic to keep up a token distraction. As his tree whirled around, missing them, he growled in frustration and…exploded upward yet again, growing in size once more. He was now towering over most of the trees around them. "This stone's gotta keep rollin' on!" he roared, and hit the ground, causing an earthquake that stunned all around.

But Shiho was now close enough to lay a hand on the creature, and the touch of the tiny girl to the giant went unnoticed as it limbered up for a mighty swing at its tormentors. She focused and tried to read the monster. What she found disappointed her, but there was something she was able to realize in the heat of it all. "Akane- _san_! Chie- _san_! Dodge right! Everyone! _Scatter_!"

Surprised but alert, all five obeyed, moving aside as Tiny brought his club (held now easily in a single hand) straight down towards the annoying flies…or where they had been. However, what was still underneath the club as it fell…was Dazzle, who turned and looked up at the descending weapon almost comically just before he turned into a pile of liquid Dazzle.

Tiny, surprised, at his victim, turned to the little bug that had been shouting. It raised a foot to stomp on Shiho, who naturally was intelligent enough to jump up and start running. Tiny's first attempted stomp missed easily, but the shake caused her to stumble and fall, and he prepped a follow-up stomp to crush her….

Nao came streaking in and scooped up the girl, dodging the foot and flying away. "Well, that was dangerous," she murmured to the little violet-hair. "Did you get anything from it?"

"Nothing truly usable," Shiho muttered back. "No Achilles heel, no specific elemental vulnerabilities. The only useful thing I learned was that, on the other hand, it isn't particularly immune to anything…."

"Well, that's comforting. So we just have to figure out how to penetrate the shell of ten tons of rock…."

Nao brought Shiho back to the regrouping collection, where she repeated her information. "So, all we can do is batter that thing until it breaks?" Chie demanded, pushing against her glasses. "Well, I guess we just have to try…."

"Wait," Yue insisted. "I think…if he has no particular strengths, then we might have a weapon powerful enough to defeat him. Let's retreat…this way." She pointed, then started away, and the others followed after her.

Tiny roared and charged after them in an ape-like, three-legged canter (one arm still holding his tree), every step shaking the earth. They flew into thicker foliage at the edge of a great, rising mountain. At Yue's instruction, everyone began making hurried preparations….

And, as Tiny burst into the scene, now quite far from tiny, they unleashed their prepared magic. A heavy barrage of bolts at the trees around Tiny brought them down upon him. Three massive trees came crashing down upon Tiny, crushing him and holding him down. This destruction upset the mountain it was based at, and an avalanche of stones came raining down upon the hapless monster, burying it under tons of rock.

After the cacophony had ceased for a short time, the six crept back towards the destruction, carefully observing the aftermath. "Is it…defeated?" Akane demanded. "Did that do it?"

Shiho moved forward and put a hand on the collapsed ground. She lowered her head and concentrated. "…Yes. There's no source of magic underneath. It's gone." She rose and turned to her friend. "Well done, Yue- _chan_ …."

Arika hovered in air, panting, staring at her foe. The shadowy beast laughed at her. _"You do well, little child. Your soul is strong. Its value is great…."_

Then it stopped and turned around. Bruised, battered, but holding their heads high, the assembled HiME presented themselves. _"So…you defeated my collection. Well, it is never too late…to start a new one!"_

The Shadow Fiend waved its arms around in a complicated fashion, then released an explosion of energy from its core. The shock of dark energy slammed against them, throwing them all backwards. As they struggled to rise, it began to gather more chaotic energy into its hands…but then it was brought up short again by one new arrival.

Fumi silently arrived, pushing Mashiro's wheelchair. "Nevermore, Shadow Fiend, the Soul Collector…a powerful Infernal. Sealed here in the wilderness of Wind Bloom 500 years ago. Now, released." She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to put you back to sleep here. We can't have you wandering around here, hurting my students and teachers."

Nevermore stared back at the girl. _"And you…you are…."_

"Fumi."

"Yes, Miss Mashiro." Fumi released the wheelchair and walked around to the side of the vehicle. She kneeled down next to the little girl.

Mashiro leaned over, putting her face near her maid's ear. "Fumi Himeno, Fifth Pillar of Garderobe. In my name, release your power." Then she kissed the GEM in Fumi's ear.

Fumi arose. "Materialize!" And she underwent her transformation. A dazzling white and gold Robe encompassed her, and a massive deathscythe appeared in her hands.

Fumi charged in at high speed and began to unleash her attacks on the demon. It dodged the attacks, blocked them with its claws, but it was largely on the defensive. Fumi was a remarkable blur, dodging the Shadow Fiend's retaliatory strikes and pressing it heavily.

Fumi began to chant as she weaved her attacks in. Finally she landed a savage blow on the beast and held the scythe inside it as she finished it. A cage of light sprang up, encompassing the monster.

"Pillars!" Mashiro snapped out. Fumi moved back and Natsuki, Shizuru, Midori, and Mary-Katherin all moved into position at five points around the bound fiend. Five hands came down, and the HiME focused magical power into the seal. Mashiro stretched a hand out and began to chant. "Spirits of the Myrror, Spirits of the land of Wind Bloom, come forth to bind this aberration in the world's order. By the name of the Crown and the Five Pillars, be sealed!"

The Soul Collector howled as the magic rose around, enclosed it, encased it…and then it vanished from sight.

Slowly the humans present all gathered around the remainder of the scene, the adrenaline still pumping through them. Finally, as Sargon and Arika finally carefully approached, Nina and Shiho were snapped out of their reveries and went charging towards the pair, Nina calling for her father and Shiho for Arika.

Sargon accepted his daughter into his embrace, and Shiho threw her arms around Arika. The others gathered around, smiling and offering their own remarks upon the adventure they had just undertaken. Then, after Shiho had finally released Arika and Yue approached her friend and roommate, her Robe disappeared from off of her and she began to collapse. Her friends moved quickly, but it was actually Sargon who reached and caught her first. "Whoa, there, Anty…."

Nina's rather numb mind finally processed the scene of Arika, of how she had been dressed and the glittering jewels now in her ear and Sargon's ring, and she stared at them in shock. _('It can't be…Father…Arika….')_

There was a chuckle and Fumi, now de-Robed, pushed Mashiro into the group and up to the rescued pair. "It seems that you've had a rather exciting time of it, your Majesty, Arika- _chan_. In several ways…."

"Ah…Miss Mashiro," Sargon murmured. "This matter was…."

"Let's not worry about that now," Mashiro said, waving the question away. "This was a very unique situation. And we should probably get back to the camp, now, before this becomes any more of a major disaster."

 _('This feeling…it sets me on edge,')_ Yue thought. _('What we just went through…it's over…but, somehow… it feels terribly familiar….')_

F I N

 _Author's Note: Character Introduction: Midori Aswad and Yukariko Steinberg_

 _And so a real My-Otome moment, heavily adjusted, finishes out. A major battle has given me the opportunity to show off powers old and new, and in the end the underpowered Yue nevertheless contributes to an important victory. She's growing quickly, and coming up will finally have a chance to become a_ real _heroine…._

 _The hike was an original My-Otome arc, a major turning point that started the sort-of romance (and quite a creepy romance in so many ways) between Serge and Arika. It introduced Aswad, the antagonistic anti-government organization, to the mix, and showed a lot of minor things…none of which are even present in my story. But the overall theme is easy to use and makes for a great potential story. So, to replace Aswad, I brought in eight of the heroes from DotA 2, that game that has recently captured the time and attention of myself and my father, a game that, with over 100 heroes, has plenty of characters to grab for random NPCs (villains and sidekicks) if I feel the need. I used Shadow Fiend as the primary being, who in this universe is a_ mazoku _or Infernal (as I've decided to call them in English, as I finally decided they needed a regular English name to differentiate them from generic demons, since their power is so prominent) sealed away. As Shadow Fiend collects souls, this gave excuse to add more baddies by having him able to control the souls of his 'collection', summoning them forth as his minions. To round out, I grabbed monstrous and semi-monstrous heroes of the classic RPG elements (the classic four, plus ice and lightning, and then light and dark—although for light and dark I rolled them into a single being with Dazzle). I directly stole some of their lines from the game, too, for cheap and easy humor and such._

 _Earth has some of the best collections of bestial heroes in the game, as we have Tiny, Earthshaker (whom I already gave to Mai under the name Earthbreaker), and Sand King as well…perhaps Sand King might have been a better choice since Tiny is actually on the Radiant or 'good' side of DotA, but Tiny has some of the better lines. I had the most trouble with his (and Dazzle's) fight before deciding to just let it go like I did so that Yue could be one of the primary heroes of that little fight._

 _Fire has a good collection, too, but the fire-flinging skeletal archer Clinkz has some of the best 'monster' quality to him and some of the best lines. Ice, likewise, is well-populated, and Ancient Apparition is the best of the frost boys for evil purposes, although his lines weren't as good as Lich's. Lightning is most common power used in the game, and with Storm Spirit, Disruptor, and Zeus all present, it has no shortage of potentials…but Razor is by far the best villain of it, with some of the best lines to boot. As for water, the only real water elemental was Morphling, who would have been acceptable, but there are plenty of fish-people and other sea-related heroes, and Tidehunter was the most monstrous, common, and (probably) powerful of those fish, so I threw him and his silly anchor into the mix._

 _Air was the problem. There are no real 'air' elementals in the game—one item and two heroes (the well-versed in magic Invoker, and the triple-elemental panda Brewmaster) who can use real air elemental spells, whirlwinds, but nothing else…well, Windrunner (now, Windranger) is kind of an air elemental base, but her tone and powers aren't really all that suited for representing it. I finally decided on Queen of Pain, a nasty succubus who uses mostly sonic attacks, since sonic attacks are kind of air/wind based, and she is suitably evil and chatty._

 _All these foes let me introduce the Five Pillars in battle, and have some fun combat in the midst of all this. And, of course, there was the Sargon/Arika meeting. As I mentioned, in the original the romance between Serge and Arika really started from this encounter, and also Nina's real resentment and jealousy of Arika began to take root, but again I ditched all that here for several reasons—Nina's daddy issues, Serge's Rena Sayers issues, and Arika's romantic sentiments are major plots of My-Otome, but only subplots here, and heavily diverted. Nina has_ some _daddy issues, still, and the fact that Arika has contracted with him will weigh on her…but the Arika vs. Nina is not a major part of this. It will spur on the upcoming competition some, but Nina, as I said earlier, is partly being toned down both by her royal upbringing and by Negima itself, as she is adopting some small traits from the_ iinchô _of Yue's magical world adventure. So, this isn't over, won't be ignored, but it's_ not _going to become the original difficult Arika-Nina battle._

 _M idori is my most changed My- Universe character, as she is a combination of the HiME and the character from My-Otome. She was rare in that series, a significant change from her original persona and yet equally cool in both incarnations. However, the teacher persona is the most prominent and best fit in the HiME school, since the group of Aswad has no place in Negima—I went ahead and used Aswad for her last name in deference to her Otome origin, but that's all that fits. She's such a cool character, though, she makes a great teacher/Pillar, and so I had to come up with a Robe for her. For her powers, since Midori was unique in possessing her Child in both series, I went ahead and gave her the ability to summon it (it's a magic item, and, since it likely won't come up in the story, I'll explain here that it is an artifact that has been carried in her family that summons the spirit, Gakuten-Ô, that is bound to it), gave her the poleax she had as a HiME, AND the two swords she carried in Otome as well. She's cool enough for it…._

 _Y ukariko Sanada was a semi-tragic, semi-annoying character in My-HiME, and the primary actual teacher in My-Otome, although overall a rather minor character. As such, her Otome personality, although less depressed and withdrawn and unsure than her HiME one, is rather more unknown (each of the HiME was well-focused on, particularly the emotional struggles that arose from their position as they were forced into their deathmatch). She just didn't stand out, which is fine, since I'm focusing more on the Pillars, particularly my additions (to the normal Otome setup—MK, Midori, Mashiro and Fumi). Well, whatever. She's a decent mostly side character who does her part and probably won't appear after this Act. I guess I can mention how her Christian roots continue to a degree—she often (mis)quotes scripture as a teacher, and encourages the girls to have faith and such and temper their 'passions of youth' (running gags and such of the My- Universe series). So, not much else to say about her, but she's here._

 _Well, that's all for here. It's about time to finish up Yue's arc! Let's go, for the best conclusion!_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Six: Mahô Shojô Yue Part Six: Beauty in the Race

Sargon greeted Mashiro Kazahana as Fumi wheeled the child-owner into the king's office. "Miss Mashiro…welcome. As busy as you are, I'm sure this is not a social visit. I assume, then, that this is because of the…situation that arose at the end of the Field Trip? Rather, the impropriety I committed with one of your students?"

"An interesting way to put it," Mashiro agreed with a smile. "Yes, it is probably necessary that we discuss the matter. I know it was a most…unusual situation, hardly regular for a student, let alone a Coral, to form a contract and take the mantle of a Crown HiME. However, I do understand that there were extenuating circumstances…."

"Indeed. So, then, are you wanting to nullify the contract? As you say, it _is_ hardly proper for a girl who hasn't even begun her years as a Pearl to be contracted…."

"Under normal circumstances, that would be best…no, it would be the only solution," Mashiro replied. "However, this time, the circumstances are very…abnormal, and I'm not talking about the trouble that happened during the survival exercise. I assume you are still planning on attending the Memorial Festival this fall and winter?"

"Of course I am." Sargon absent-mindedly picked up a chess piece that was sitting on his table and held it up, half examining it and half staring at something past it. "For the twentieth anniversary of that victory, everyone who is anyone will be there. Even if Wind Bloom is a small kingdom, it would be unthinkable for any ruler to ignore such an important symbol of peace…and I would scarcely want to miss all the excitement anyway." He put down the piece and turned back to his guest, smiling slightly. "And, of course, the mysterious 'Kalan Lockeheart' is gunning for a place in the memorial fighting tournament, the 'Lockeheart Cup'…this brash youth is _certainly_ something I can't miss. As you say, there are _very_ interesting circumstances at this time."

"I'm glad we see eye-to-eye. For now, it might be advantageous for all of us if we allow you to keep your contract. It won't be readily available—after all, we don't want to flaunt the matter, and Arika isn't ready for full-time duty as a HiME, so we're having her GEM removed and replacing her Coral GEM. We should also have your part of the pair removed…and we'll have Arika keep it for now, if it's all the same to you."

"I cannot refuse that demand." Sargon leaned forward and extended his hand. Fumi released the chair and approached, then bent down and easily plucked the blue stone from Sargon's ring. Seeing it done so easily impressed him, even though he knew Garderobe alone possessed knowledge of the MagiTech to allow such things—try as he might, for him the stone had been irrevocably set, impossible to budge.

Fumi gave the stone to Mashiro and then resumed her place. Mashiro nodded and gave her closing salutation: "I thank you for your understanding and cooperation, your Majesty. Now, I shouldn't keep you any longer…and I have more business and preparations of my own to make. If you will excuse us…."

Sargon watched them go with a smile. _('Even one such as her is bound by politics…that portion of our world is a terrible tragedy, particularly for Yue-_ chan _and her other friends on this paper. Still, it will be interesting to see just where things go from here….')_

8-8-8

"Jeez, you're as amazing as ever, Arika- _chan_ ," Irina said with a sigh. "After that mess, you retook the survival exercise all by yourself and finished it in record time! Now you're all the way up to #12 in the rankings. It's almost unfair…."

It was several days later. As Irina had mentioned, the school rescheduled and retried the important exam, and most of the Corals had grudgingly attempted it again. Erstin, however, chose not to tempt fate again (she was still recovering, after all) and so Arika was forced (or, rather, insisted upon) to go it alone and had done well…nay, spectacularly.

"Ah, no," Arika denied modestly. "I still have so much to learn. Ers- _chan_ , though, you're pretty amazing, too! You couldn't take the test and so you got a zero, but you still only fell from 18th to 25th place!"

"Y-yeah," Erstin agreed abashedly. "I-I guess I'm doing all right…."

"From 50th to 12th in one semester, even with her horrendous test scores," Shiho needled good-naturedly. "A very impressive showing. Of course, your roommate…." She gestured at Yue. "She came out of nowhere and was a fish out of water since her arrival, but she's already moved up to #15 herself…impressive, despite the fact that she has a serious weakness of needing too much time in the toilets every day. Any longer and you two won't be able to be called the 'dunce duo'. Isn't that right, Nina- _chan_?"

Nina, sitting off to the side more on her own than she had been in a while, rather pointedly ignored the comment entirely.

Shiho continued giving Nina her evil little smile for a moment before shrugging and turning away. Yue considered their #1 carefully for a few moments. "Is something the matter with Nina- _san_? She seems…even more withdrawn than usual…."

"Oh, nothing serious," Shiho said glibly. "But for her, seeing that her father and Arika- _chan_ had done _that_ together…it's a serious blow to her poor maiden heart…oh, I forgot, we're not supposed to talk about that…."

" _That_?" Irina demanded, aghast. "What is _that_?"

"W-w-w-what do you mean?" Erstin agreed, horrified, fascinated, and red-faced.

As Arika objected to Shiho's teasing, also red-faced (Mashiro had warned those present that any mention of the specifics of Arika's adventure with Sargon was forbidden) Nina just managed to avoid deepening her scowl. _('I-I must stop thinking about it…it doesn't matter. Even if that brainless girl has that GEM, even if it worked for her, it doesn't mean…no, it was an unavoidable circumstance. If she hadn't had that power, if she hadn't used it to form a contract with Father, Father might have…something dreadful might have happened to him. But after that, it doesn't mean anything. She's still not fit to_ really _be a Crown HiME, after all. I'm still the #1 Coral, just as I promised Father. I just have to continue proving myself…._

 _('And as for Arika…I need…to be properly grateful to her…._

 _('But I also must continue to prove that I'm the best…!')_

8-8-8

Nina's subtle disdain for Arika lessened over the following days, although, for those in their circle, it was obvious she was even less tolerant of her most unusual rival. Nevertheless, they all continued to grow, train, and improve themselves as they worked on their HiME schooling….

Until one day when a seemingly random history lesson started a secret avalanche.

"…Although the Takiva Empire fell, splintering apart," Yukariko explained to the class, reading from her manual while they (most of them, at least) followed along, "its royal family, long blessed with varied and powerful magical powers, maintained its strength, and shortly thereafter re-emerged as the small but influential kingdom of Kanev. From the ashes of its former dominion came three great nations, Grandall, Dalkia, and Halteese. The three nations had greatly different philosophies and constitutions, and war between them has been commonplace—for the most part, only the presence of all three has prevented any war from escalating into a genocidal affair.

"Even so, despite the number of wars that commonly arose among them over the several hundred years since their inception, the magnitude of said wars never became catastrophic…until the events of twenty-five years ago. At that time, war was purposely fomented by a secret organization between Grandall and Dalkia, and, eventually, Halteese as well. The exact reasons behind it are not known, but the scope of the war began to be devastating. Finally, the culprits behind the war, the masterminds manipulating it, the cult known as the Obsidian Star, were exposed, having hidden themselves within the kingdom of Kanev. Through the sacrifice of the nation's capital, the floating city of Orimus, the Obsidian Star was defeated and peace returned to the world of Arcanus Myrror."

A magical screen showed scenes, details, and maps to the class while Yukariko lectured them. Now an image of a red-haired young man appeared on the screen, flanked by a few other (largely youthful) faces. "The man responsible for exposing the plot and defeating the Obsidian Star—the man who saved the world and brought it back to peace—was known as Kalan Lockeheart, leader of the mercenary band 'The Red Wings', a man rather famous even all the way here in Wind Bloom…."

Yue, in instinctive shock, suddenly jumped to her feet and slammed her hands on her desk, leaning forward to get a better look at the handsome youth on the screen. She said nothing, just stared in wide-eyed recognition as the class, Yukariko included, stared at her in shock. "Um, Yue Yumemiya…is there some kind of problem?" her teacher asked her finally.

Yue came to her senses and sat down quickly. "Ah, n-no," was all she said. Her friends continued to stare at her.

"I see…very well. To continue: in the aftermath of the final battle, Orimus became the site of a magical catastrophe, and became completely uninhabitable. However, after so many years, thanks in part to the efforts of the Halteese Republic with support from most of the other nations, much of the city has been rebuilt and is now inhabitable again. Next month is the twentieth anniversary of the end of the war, and Memorial Festival will be held in the city to honor those who perished, those who were responsible for the world's salvation, and the peace itself. All nations, races, and creeds are welcomed in the festival. In addition, there will be a large fighting tournament in honor of Kalan Lockeheart."

Yue stared, thoughts and feelings she couldn't pin down blazing trails inside of her. _('Kalan Lockeheart…the dead city of Orimus….')_

8-8-8

Yue was alone in the library, searching through books—not an uncommon event for her, to be sure. In her hands she held a definitive history of the great war twenty years ago and the major players in it. She was focusing on the picture of a young man, a boy as old she was, with wild red hair and bright eyes. _('Kalan Lockeheart…so, he's deceased, then…? That feeling when I first saw his picture, though…I thought he might be someone I knew from before, but…._

 _('This picture is of him when he was fourteen, shortly before the end of the war…._

The feelings she couldn't pin down as she stared at the picture nonetheless affected her, causing her to blush….

"What are you studying now, Yue- _chan_?" Shiho said sweetly into her ear.

Yue jumped, turning, red-faced, to stare at Shiho, Irina and Arika. Before she had time to do anything more than give a startled exclamation of surprise, Irina wormed her way in to get a better look at Yue's book. "Oh…you're reading about Kalan Lockeheart?" Irina asked in surprise and delight.

"A-ah, no, I-I'm not really…" Yue stuttered desperately.

"You should have just asked me in the first place," Irina continued cheerfully, almost smugly. "The truth is, I'm a huge fan of Kalan Lockeheart, myself."

As Yue stared in surprise at this revelation, Shiho put in unnecessarily, "He's about the only subject non-machine related Irina is interested in."

"Well, I can't say I'm a _real_ fan," Irina conceded. "Not like some of them. I don't collect much, but there are lots of Kalan memorabilia and stuff…Kalan action figures, Kalan alarm clocks, Red Wing badges, Kalan mugs, Kalan t-shirts…completely official of course. I…don't have much of that…."

"All her allowance and her living space goes towards collecting MagiTech, of course," Shiho added smugly. "But she does have her card for his fan club, membership number 96077."

"Yeah, that is true," Irina admitted.

 _('I couldn't possibly know such a famous person,')_ Yue thought. Aloud, she asked, "Is…that a good number?"

"Well, five digit numbers are actually pretty rare," Irina informed her.

"But if you're interested in Kalan Lockeheart, you'll be interested in this," Shiho informed her, removing a magic video card (the same kind of magic used in the video letters Kain sent and received) and showing it to Yue.

She activated it, and an image came to life. "What's this recording?" Yue asked in her neutral tone.

Her calm vanished as she saw the red-haired figure come to life…the scantily-clad devil-girl reporter addressing him went mostly unnoticed. "He's a gladiator in the town of Granicus, way out west in the uncivilized lands," Shiho explained.

 _"Hey there, once again!"_ the devil-girl saluted the man. _"So, Kalan, everything's going great for you, isn't it?"_

Yue stared in shock as Kalan gave a bit of a grunt in reply, smiling softly. _"I suppose you must be planning to take part in the tournament at Orimus, right?"_

 _"Of course,"_ Kalan answered.

"Who is this guy?" Yue muttered in wonder as the video continued.

"He calls himself Kalan Lockeheart," Irina explained. "He's even the spitting image of the vanished hero! Everyone's talking about him…all the fans have all sorts of theories about him…a relative, a son, or the man's own reincarnation…."

"Such foolish talk," a voice interrupted them, and they turned in surprise to Nina. "No matter what he looks like, there is only one Kalan Lockeheart…this young man is obviously an imposter. Although, to be honest, he has done quite impressively for himself…."

"Ah? Nina- _chan_ knows about this guy, too?" Arika finally put in, surprised (naturally, she had almost been as lost as Yue—perhaps more so—over all this talk of the Grand Archmage).

"Late to the party as usual, Arika," Nina sighed. "Well, it's not something I boast about, but I, too, am a fan of Kalan Lockeheart…I was raised to be. Both of my parents were his admirers, and I was raised to admire him myself. In fact…."

She held up a membership card…with the number 78 on it. Irina's eyes bugged. "S-seventy-eight!? Two digits!? T-that's…that's…."

"That's impossible," Shiho put in simply. "There were thousands of people in his official fan club before the war ended, which was five years before we were born. However, as a princess, Nina inherited her mother's fan club space after the queen passed away.

"But, it _is_ a good point," she continued, casually resting a hand on Nina's shoulder. "Yes, she's thinking, _'Other than my father, the only man for me is the hero, Kalan Lockeheart…._ '"

" _Shiho_!" Nina roared in rage, bringing about the usual comedy routine.

8-8-8

"Is it possible that this gladiator is the real Kalan- _san_?" Yue asked later that evening as the four girls talked together in Yue and Arika's room.

"I don't think that's really possible," Shiho said. "The fan base is split on theories. Most think that it's a hoax, that the man is just using magic to make himself look like Kalan Lockeheart and is taking the name and image as a publicity stunt. Others don't care about the truth, saying only that since he is the spitting image, it's as good as if their hero had returned. The theory that this Kalan is his secret love child is very popular, while a few maintain he might be some other relation, and a very small number believe that he is the man's reincarnation…."

"There are other theories, too!" Irina continued excitedly. "That's he's the clone of the man! There are rumors that Grandall, which was the main nation to employ Kalan, had developed a secret MagiTech cloning technology. Others think it might be a ghost or something else exciting like that…."

"G-g-ghost aside," Shiho interrupted, trying to slide through that frightening thought, "most agree that the theories of it being Kalan in some form or other—clone, reincarnation, whatever—are unsupportable, due to his fighting style being completely different. But in the end, the point is that no one knows who he really is." She smiled to herself and looked away almost dreamily. "Oh, I hate mysteries being kept from me. I'm not a real fan, per se, but I'd love to get my hands on that man…I'd find out just what secrets he's hiding…."

"Hmm…." _('Kalan Lockeheart,')_ Yue thought. She studied the picture she had of the man. _('I'm sure this person means something extremely important to me. Just looking at his picture gives me this incredible feeling. I start sweating, my breath catches in my throat, my cheeks start to flush….')_

Yue came to a stunning and unwelcome realization. _('Ack, no…don't tell me…this can't be what they call 'Love at first sight'! No, no, no, no, no, no! No way! That's just stupid! Ridiculous!_

 _('…At any rate, I just get the feeling…if I am able to meet that person, I'll be able to get my memories…to get everything back….')_

"…Right. We're going to Orimus!" Yue suddenly declared.

Shiho smiled slightly while Arika and Irina started. "W-what?" Arika demanded. "What do you mean, Yue- _chan_? Are your memories…?"

"Right. Somehow, they're tied into this. I have to go and check!"

"A fine idea," Shiho agreed. "But how are you going to manage it? We're important boarding students at a prestigious school…."

"That's true," Irina sighed. "I'd like to go, too…but the odds of us getting permission to go to a festival in a foreign country…I mean, I guess we could always try asking Nina- _chan_ to beg her father for permission and use his influence, but even those odds…."

 _('I know,')_ Yue thought. _('I know…it's a long shot…but still…there has to be a way…some way will open, I'm sure of it….')_

8-8-8

Irina came pelting up to Yue and Arika, calling their names. "Quick! Come check this out!" As the pair hesitated, she grabbed their hands and started dragging them down the hall, ignoring their protests and queries.

She brought them to the student communication board in the main hall, then pointed out the large new announcement proclaiming:

'Now taking applications for a special security mission at the upcoming Memorial Festival in Orimus. Two applicants from each year will be accepted; in the event that there are too many applicants, a selection test will be held this weekend.'

"T-this is…!" Yue exclaimed, staring in shock.

Naturally they were not the only ones paying attention to this new announcement, of course. The girls gathered around babbled excitedly about the special assignment, and all that it offered.

"It's like an absolute godsend!" Yue enthused. "It's so perfect it's ridiculous!"

"We've got to apply," Irina said. "We could end up going to Orimus, and…!"

"Yue- _chan_!" Arika said, grasping her friend's hands. "This is it! With this, you might get your memories back…."

"There's only one problem," Shiho pointed out as she joined them. "There are only two applicants accepted per year."

The girls fell silent at this. Irina sighed. "You're right…I guess we'll have to give up on it…."

"No, we can't do that," Shiho insisted again. "I want this for Yue- _chan_ as well…but…there's no guarantee, even if she enters, that she'll be able win. We should compete, too, so that we have more chances of sending two of us to Orimus." She smiled slightly. "To be honest, I don't think that Irina - _chan_ and I have much of a chance of beating you in any kind of performance test, considering Yue- _chan_ 's brain and Arika- _chan_ 's brawn, but every little bit does help. Well, if by some miracle we were to win, I swear that we will find that Kalan Lockeheart-wannabe and after using him with my power for all he's worth, we'll drag him back here to you!"

"D-don't you mean use your power on him?" Irina murmured.

Yue stared at Shiho's honest smile and finally smiled back. "Y-yeah. Let's…all do our best!"

"Hmph. Do you people really think it will be that easy?"

The four turned to see Nina standing there imperiously, her arms crossed in front of her chest, Erstin standing nervously flanking her. "Do you really think that you are going to be the only ones shooting for this position? I am going to enter as well, you know…and I have no intention of losing…to any of you."

They stared back at her, and Shiho turned her own coy smile on the girl. "Oh? And why is _Nina-_ chan so obsessed with this? Do you really think that you might have a chance of having a meeting of destiny with Kalan Lockeheart…?"

Nina scoffed and turned away. "As the #1 Coral, I can't let myself lose to any of you. I have to uphold the pride and dignity of my position, and not bring shame to my father. That is all." And she stalked away, with Erstin apologizing on her behalf and then hurrying after her.

The four sighed, but a new voice informed them, "Oh, my…she's as coarse and unflinching as ever." They turned to Tomoe, who smiled at them kindly. "Of course, this is a rare and special opportunity, and all of the Corals will be trying their hardest to succeed. Although we are all classmates, after all, we are HiME, and are ultimately competitors. Well, let's all do our best. May the best HiME win!"

As she bowed and departed, the four stared after her. Shiho's unseen look was cold, hard, and loathing, and then, as Tomoe began to disappear, it suddenly changed into an evil smile.

8-8-8

"Ah, I'm excited!" Arika enthused later that day as they left class. "To be competing in a match like this against Nina- _chan_ , Irina- _chan_ , Shiho- _chan_ , Tomoe- _chan_ and all the rest…it's gonna be great!"

Yue stared at her friend and smiled slightly. "Hmm. You're incredibly excited…but for a different reason…."

"Ah, sorry, Yue- _chan_! I don't mean to belittle your need to go to Orimus, after all…it's just…this is the kind of thing I love! It's gonna be so much fun! And we won't lose to anyone, not even Nina- _chan_!"

"Yeah. That's right. We just have to keep training and preparing for this match…maybe, if I meet him…no, I'm sure of it! If I can find that man, I'll get my memories back!

"Let's go, Arika! We'll beat even that Nina- _san_ black and blue, and go to Orimus together!"

8-8-8

The 'selection test' was a marathon Robed race for the competitors in their teams of two, using the flying discs afforded for their occasional practice sessions. The race was over a course than ran around a forest out to the west of the academy…a 'Forest of Monsters'. The forest was untamed and filled with magical creatures, but the creatures, from long experience taught by the teachers and Pillars of Garderobe, knew better than to leave the forest that was their home.

"As long as we don't enter it, there's generally no danger due to the locale," Yue noted. "Our opponents are the other Corals…."

"We're allowed to interfere with each fully, using all the powers at our disposal!" Arika enthused. "All right! A real fun running Dance Battle!"

"Hmm. Yes, you were enthusiastic about the overland exercise, too." Yue smiled her small smile. "Let's do this!"

The announcers began to introduce the competitors and the crowds gathered, both students of the academy and citizens from Wind Bloom, to line the opening street of the race—the Garderobe Academy's competitions were all some of the finest entertainment for the people of its host nation. Crowds began to cheer on their favorites as the girls gathered and mounted their flying discs, their staves in their hands. _('My blood is pumping, too,')_ Yue thought. _('It's true I don't have any memories, but still, I get the feeling this is the first time I've ever thrown myself into something with so much abandon….')_

Nina stared straight ahead, just sparing one single glance towards her perceived greatest rival. _('Arika…now, you, of all people, contracted as a HiME to my father…I won't let you get the better of me this time… no, nor you, Yue Ayase….')_

Tomoe and Shiho found themselves next to each other as they readied themselves to begin. After a smirking vicious smile crossed her face, Tomoe turned her most charming, friendly smile to Shiho. "Well…Shiho- _chan_ …let's do our best, shall we?"

"Drop the good-girl act, bitch," Shiho replied, low enough that only Tomoe could hear the venomous retort. "I already warned off your little peon girl, but you really won't take the hint, will you? I'll never forgive you for what you've done and tried to do to my friends, and someday you will pay for it. As they say, what goes around comes around, or, in other words, karma…you better watch your back."

Tomoe stared at Shiho indignantly for a few moments before assuming a vicious and manic smile. "Is that so? I don't care how special you think you are, you better watch your tone with me…I'll bury you alive just like anyone else who gets in my way."

"So glad we understand each other," Shiho said cheerfully, more loudly, turning away but shooting Tomoe one last knowing glance. "Let's have ourselves a fine and glorious Dance Battle, shall we?"

"Of course…may the best HiME win," Tomoe agreed, likewise assuming her own mask of friendliness.

Irina and Miya, on either side of the pair, shared a glance around them that communicated a small amount of sympathy and understanding about being burdened with similar partners….

Finally the race began, and two dozen discs rose into the air and began speeding away, racing down the street, jockeying for position. They were not yet unleashing any spells, as they were still in the city with crowds close by them, but after 500 meters of street they turned off the road and started heading for the wilderness…and then the real fight started. The girls attempted to keep on racing, staying on their discs, while combating the other discs around them, sending out attack spells, and preparing their own defense spells. A few of the less-skilled and unluckier girls were taken out swiftly and decisively, crashing and flipping off their vehicles and falling scattered by the wayside. Of course, due to the power of their Robes, the actual damage they took was minimal, but….

Shiho and Irina pulled out of the mêlée first, veering off into a more out-of-the-way path. "Will this strategy really work? In a race like this, taking a longer course…."

"For the two of us, engaging in that battle is crazy," Shiho said. "Regardless of HiME being warriors, our strengths aren't in battle…and we don't want to be anywhere in that mess. The battle will come down to Nina- _chan_ 's and Yue- _chan_ 's pairs, really…but if they all take each other out, we'll end up winning by default…."

"But what about Tomoe- _chan_?" Irina pressed.

Shiho gave her a look of smiling, feigned confusion. "Oh? Who is that you're talking about? Do I know that person?"

 _('I have a bad feeling about that…sometimes, this girl is….')_

Tomoe and Miya actually held back, taking out some of the weaklings but letting the most impressive girls struggle for their lead. "T-Tomoe- _sama_ ," Miya offered fearfully, "is this really all right? We're lagging behind…at this rate…."

"Don't worry, Miya," the green-haired girl replied. "This is fine…it's all going according to plan…."

Nina, of course, was in the lead, proving her overall skills as the number one Coral. Erstin struggled to catch her attention. "Nina- _chan_! B-behind us!"

Nina glanced back. There, approaching quickly, were the serious-faced Yue and the grimly smiling Arika. "Hmph. Them, of course. Well, let's prepare for them…."

She and Erstin turned slightly, slowing but still moving forward away from their foes even as they set their faces to them. Arika then came charging in, leaping off of her disc and landing on Nina's. Arika's disc slammed into Erstin, sending her flying. Nina and Arika began to engage in mêlée.

 _('What is it with this girl!?')_ Nina thought. _('Before she came here, no one could match me! No…I won't let her beat me!')_

Their staves struggled together as they battled on the wildly dancing disc, struggling against each other with their enhanced strength. Arika shoved her head forward to connect with Nina's face, stunning her, then pushed forward. Nina staggered back but recovered quickly, lashing out again to stop Arika's advance. She attacked high then went down low, going for Arika's feet. Arika blocked the attack, but Nina chanted as she attacked, and a blast of electricity rocked her disc. The shock and the motion caused by the blast upset Arika and with another push Nina was able to send her flying off of the vehicle to crash into the ground below, but Nina managed to hang on and finally get her disc stabilized.

She glanced around quickly, trying to locate her partner. "Erstin, are you all right?"

Erstin stood up woozily and stared past Nina. "N-Nina- _chan_! Behind you!"

 _('That's right…Yue!')_ Her struggle with Arika had been so fierce that Nina had temporarily forgotten the girl's companion, and she whirled around as Yue came charging towards her. To her surprise, Yue dipped her disc and went ducking underneath her.

"Surging wind of the earth…Uplift!" Yue barked out, unleashing her long-in-preparation spell. A whirlwind blasted up underneath Nina, sending her flying high into the air and separating her from her disc.

Yue grabbed one of the discs rolling around and threw it to Arika, who was finally getting to her feet. "Let's go!" she cried, and Arika quickly jumped on top of the disc and started off after her friend.

"Sorry, Ers- _chan_ , Nina- _chan_!" Arika apologized to the pair as they left them behind.

Erstin and Nina finally managed to pick themselves up and track down a pair of discs (theirs or another defeated team's, no one could tell anymore). "Let's go!" Nina insisted hotly.

"R-right," Erstin agreed, and they got themselves underway in pursuit.

8-8-8

"Most of the girls are far behind us," Miya mentioned. "Only Arika's team and Nina's team are ahead…."

"And not that far," Tomoe smirked. "It's time for me to put my plan into action. Just as I thought, they're straying too close to the Forest of Monsters, trying to shorten the course as much as possible. This will be too easy." She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small object, almost the size and shape of an egg. "Let's go!"

Up ahead, Arika glanced back behind her. "Yue- _chan_! They've almost caught up!"

Yue also glanced back. _('That's probably my biggest weakness here…I've actually had the hardest time learning to control these discs, even with all the crazy practice I've done. Nina-_ san _, of course, is an expert at everything, and Erstin-_ san _'s strength is the manipulation of simple spells and devices like these, so of course they're able to catch up.')_

"Still," she said aloud, turning herself to face them alongside Arika. "All we can do is beat them back again!"

Nina and Erstin slowed their charge as they came to within range. As Arika began to charge back at them, getting into her preferred range (mêlée), both unleashed spells at her, forcing her back. Yue cast a magical barrier to block and deflect their attacks, trying to come up with a strategy to counter them. _('They're more careful this time…the same tricks won't work on Nina-_ san _twice. So, to overcome this, we have to….')_

Suddenly Tomoe came hurtling in on them. All four looked up at her in surprise, even more so when she chanted and dropped the egg in their midst. It exploded out into a cloud that swiftly enveloped them even as they retreated. "Miya!" Tomoe snapped, and her aide came in next, chanting a spell and causing a wind to blow the smoke into the nearby forest.

"What…what's the meaning of this!?" Nina demanded, forgetting her fight to stare up at Tomoe.

Tomoe smiled a vicious smile at the four of them. "You better start running if you want to remain alive," she advised them. "That was a powerful scent magic, the kind that attracts certain dragons that dwell in that forest. They normally don't leave it because so many powerful HiME have dealt with any that try, but to follow that scent, they'll chase you to the ends of the world…."

"Huh?" Arika stared up at Tomoe in shock. "What? What's going on, Tomoe- _chan_? Why are you trying to get dragons after us? Aren't we just having a friendly competition…?"

Tomoe laughed. "You stupid, airheaded girl! You're so pathetic…I have no idea why Shizuru- _onee-sama_ ever wanted to pay attention to you, but I can't stand it anymore! And you, too, Yue…just because you're the mysterious newcomer you think you can hog all of her attention! And the great, privileged princess, Nina Blan de Windbloom, and her little serving girl…all of you just make me sick! I'm not and never have been your friend…that was all just an act to play with you little girls here at the school. But it doesn't matter now. With this victory, I'll be joining the _ne-sama_ as we go to Orimus together, and from my efforts there I will be easily recognized as Crown HiME material…and, finally, Shizuru- _onee-sama_ will recognize me…."

"Why, you…!" Nina began angrily, preparing a spell, but she was cut off as a roar sounded from the woods.

"Oh! That's your dinner date! I better not keep you," Tomoe chortled. "Have fun, ladies!" And off she zoomed, Miya trailing her, at maximum speed.

Soon the four were left far behind with their troubles. Tomoe laughed maniacally at her victory. "With this, my four greatest rivals are eliminated. It's a shame I couldn't get that other bitch, Shiho, but she's nowhere in sight…she must have given up. Oh well. The victory is clearly mine!"

And then, with impeccable timing, the MagiTech gears within her ride suddenly started to grind wrongly and shut down at just the wrong intervals. Tomoe gave an almost cute expression of shock as the disc started flying wildly, maintaining its speed but swirling dangerously off course, flying high in the air and taking her far from her regular path. And, just a moment after Tomoe's started to fail, Miya's followed suit….

8-8-8

There was a crash and explosion that was so loud Shiho and Irina could hear it and see the smoke rising up even from their distance. "W-what was that?" Irina asked nervously.

"Oh, it sounds like something's right with the universe," Shiho said brightly. "You know, 'what goes around comes around' and 'karma' and all that business. It's amazing, actually getting to see and hear a principle of life manifested right in front of you, even at this distance."

Irina stared at her. She sweat-dropped. "Shiho- _chan_ …what _were_ you doing with that book I loaned you on HiME MagiTech items…?"

"Oh, I was just satiating my curiosity!" Shiho replied angelically.

8-8-8

With a roar, a huge beast burst out of the forest. It had the head and forelegs of a giant eagle, with fur lining that portion of its torso, and the back half of a reptilian creature, with great bat-like wings emerging from its back. It crashed into the midst of the four girls, scattering them.

"A dracogriff!" Erstin cried in horror. "That's…a monster of the highest level! Our Coral Robes can't possibly handle something like that!"

It turned its gaze first…on Yue. Yue's eyes widened as it charged at her. She dodged as it lunged at her, snapping its beak, attempting to rake her with its claws, even attempting to swipe her with a wing or tail. She weaved around all the attacks with speed and grace that she had not hitherto demonstrated. Then it finally opened its mouth wide and began to generate power. It fired a ray of pure magic force at her. In response, Yue quickly raised a magical shield and started downward, and these two combined actions deflecting the beam up enough that she was able to dodge under it.

 _('W-what is this? It's suddenly coming so easily…I feel this sensation of intense heat in my body, like I'm on fire, but it feels…good…where's this power coming from?')_

Arika, at first terrified as the thing attacked her friend and then amazed by her movements, also felt something happening. She felt the heat down near her side and reached into that pocket, removing….

 _('Wait…isn't this that card Yue-_ chan _had when she arrived? Ah! I forgot to tell her about it and give it to her again! Ah! And it's glowing again and showing that picture! I should…!')_

The griffin-dragon hybrid monster continued following Yue until a magical bolt struck the side of its head. It turned its attention with a roar to Nina, who dodged back from its attacks.

As Yue prepared to back the girl up, Arika caught her attention. "Yue- _chan_! I-I think this is yours! It seems something's happening to it!"

Nina continued to unleash her shots at the beast and Erstin attempted to back her up, but they impacted against a magical barrier with no apparent effect. _('Dammit,')_ Nina thought _, ('this thing is just too strong…can't we do anything to it!?')_

She managed to dodge its attacks as well, until a shot from its wing clubbed her to the ground and stunned her. It opened its mouth to prepare its breath weapon again as Nina struggled to recover. Erstin called out her name in shock and despair….

Nina winced as the beam bore down on her…but a surge of energy in front of her flared first, and she opened her eyes to look. She stared at Yue, standing protectively in front of her, her Coral staff held in one hand and her other outstretched. A barrier was completely blocking the dragon's attack.

"W-what are you doing!?" Nina shouted at her. "And how can you possibly have the power to block dragon breath…!?" Then she spotted the object floating in front of Yue's hand, the item responsible for creating the barrier that was saving her life. _('T-that's…a contract card! The legendary artifact card shared between an Archmage and his disciples! How does someone like her have…no…it must be because she….')_

"Y-Yue- _chan_!" Erstin shouted at her. "It's still not enough! It's not going to hold!"

Indeed, part of the attack seemed to be getting through, the pressure on it cracking and scattering Yue's Robe into pieces. Gritting her teeth, Yue pushed her hand forward, laid hold of the card, and shouted, "Adeat!"

In a flash, the last of the dragon's breath vanished, and Yue stood there, now clothed also by a witch hat and cloak, which looked somewhat comical over her repaired HiME Robe. A magical book floated in the air in front of her, about where her card had been. "Mage Disciple, Ayase Yue!" Yue declared instinctively.

"Mage…Disciple…Yue, who are you…?" Nina demanded in shock.

Yue turned back to her. "Nina- _san_! You're not hurt, are you?"

Nina's shock was newborn, but she recovered finally. "No, I'm fine."

"Good," Yue replied, turning back to the foe. "Then we should be able to make it out of this…."

The dracogriff, somewhat put off by this strange reaction from this interesting prey, hoisted itself somewhat further into the sky and considered its victims. Yue glared up at it. "Now, it's our counterattack! Let's beat this thing!"

Nina turned to her shock as the fearful Erstin and admiring starry-eyed Arika joined them in a tight cluster. "What are you saying!? This is an A-class monster! You need a real HiME Robe to face something like this! Even a Pearl would have almost no chance! The four of us don't have enough power to even penetrate its natural magic barrier…."

"R-right," Erstin agreed. "I mean, a dracogriff is far less powerful than a true dragon, but it's still far more than we can handle…."

"No! If Yue- _chan_ thinks we can beat it, I say we try!" Arika enthused. "I won't back down from it just because it's a big monster!"

"When it comes down to it, we don't have a choice," Yue informed them. "This particular variety of monster is a natural hunter. When it has set its eyes on its target, it won't give up until it has killed or been killed. And you heard Tomoe- _san_ , right? This scent she put on us is drawing it. We can't run fast enough to escape it, and we'll never be able to shake it off. In other words, fighting is our only option. It's certainly dangerous for mere Corals like ourselves…." She turned a smile back to them. "But don't worry! We should be able to do this if we work together! Nina- _san_ , I'll need you to back me up!"

As Nina stared at her in shock, Erstin called her name in panic. The dracogriff, finally tired of its passive prey, had decided to go on the offensive again, and was charging in again. Once more they fled hurriedly.

"Erstin- _san_! Arika! I need you two to be bait!" Yue demanded hurriedly. "It's a dangerous task, but please, we need you to do it! Trust me!"

"Bait!?" Nina demanded in shock. "But…."

"Please, trust me," Yue said to the required pair.

"If Yue- _chan_ needs that from me, I can do it!" Arika insisted. "Let's go, Ers- _chan_!"

"R-right," Erstin agreed, and she started after Arika as they rose up to confront the monster aboard their discs.

A few quick spells and a single futile attack from Arika quickly accomplished the task, and the monster was soon chasing them. "I need you to lure it toward those rocks!" Yue demanded. "Use flashy spells to keep it interested, but be careful!"

"R-right!"

"Now we need to get there ahead of them!" Yue insisted to Nina, and jumped back aboard her disc to start that direction.

"Wait!" Nina said suddenly as she found and retrieved her own flying machine. She took to the air after her. "For you to use your own friend and roommate as bait…I wouldn't have expected it of you…."

"The only powerful attack it has besides claws and teeth is that energy breath," Yue replied calmly. "The direction they're taking has trees to use as cover, preventing it from using the breath to its full effect. If it's those two, they'll be fine."

She was reading in her book even as she traveled. As she ran her hand across it, symbols and text, pictures and details appeared in the air above it. "The real problem is the natural defense it has, that wind barrier," Yue continued. "Our power isn't sufficient to penetrate it under normal circumstances…however, we should have one way to beat it. Nina- _san_ , I'm going to need your help to pull this off. Please lend me your strength."

Nina glared at Yue, a multitude of various emotions coursing through her. "This is certainly different of you, Yue. Has whoever you are awakened?"

"If you mean, have I got my memories back…no. I don't know who I am, still. I remembered how to use my artifact, but that's all. It doesn't matter, though…we need to defeat this monster."

"…Right. It's not like I have a choice. I don't want to let that thing get the best of me either. If you have a plan, just tell me what I need to do!"

8-8-8

"T-t-this is bad," Erstin moaned. "We're really going to die…!"

Even as she spake, a shot of stray energy caught her disc and cast her aside. It tumbled down and exploded. Arika came diving in underneath her and caught her, then continued racing away. "D-don't worry, Ers- _chan_. Yue- _chan_ will figure out a way to beat that thing. I know she will! We just have to do our part!"

 _'Arika!'_ Yue's voice suddenly declared in her mind. _'That's good! Just come straight ahead! As soon as you clear the forest, you can veer off out of the way!'_

And then they shot out of the forest, and Arika did indeed scatter from the path. Ahead the dragon saw a girl surging with power. Yue had a dagger in her hand as she waited for it. "Over here, you scaly beast!" she yelled at it. "Your opponent is me!"

"Yue- _chan_ ," Erstin sighed in relief as she and Arika slipped out to safety.

The dracogriff opened its mouth and released another blast of energy. Yue poured all her power into a barrier to block it. _('G-good…its breath weapon is getting weaker, just as I thought…if it's this much I can at least hold it…now, I just need….')_

"My turn," Nina muttered from up above. She finished her incantation and summoned the most powerful attack spell she could muster, an ice storm that rained blades of frost upon both Yue and the dracogriff.

The monster brought its charge up short as the attack came and raised its barrier above it to block the attacks. _('Now! While it's protecting itself from above, I can slip in underneath like this!')_

To do so, she had to weave her way through the raining spears as well. One glanced across her broad forehead, but she ignored the blow and climbed towards the dragon's neck. _('Now…there, behind the crest on its head…its weak spot!')_

She thrust her dagger into the vulnerable area, stunning the beast, then fell backwards, extending her staff. Another icicle smashed into her disc, shattering it, but she leapt off, ignoring her impending fall and focused on her spell. "White Lightning!" she cried, unleashing it. The blast of magical electricity struck the hilt of the dagger, channeling all that energy directly into the exposed weak point.

As Yue landed roughly on the ground the dracogriff convulsed, surged forward, and fell to the ground, defeated. And, just in time, Nina's spell of raining ice spears finished as well.

The girls surveyed the scene. "S-she did it!" Erstin cried.

"Amazing, Yue- _chan_ , Nina- _chan_!" Arika enthused. "You did it! You did it!"

 _('W-we actually defeated it,')_ Nina thought, staring at the carnage. _('Of course, although we say defeated, it's just stunned, unconscious…a few hours and it will recover. We don't have the power to give a finishing blow to that even if we wanted to, but even putting it down like this is no small feat, but we managed it...')_ She turned her gaze upon Yue as the girl slowly picked herself up. _('No…she did…it was all thanks to her. That artifact…that power…she really is….')_

"I-I think we should go back," Erstin sighed.

"Ah…but after all that, I think we're going to lose completely," Arika said with a sigh. "We only have two discs left…all the other teams must have taken the easier paths, but even so, we'll never catch up to them now, not in our condition. I'm sorry, Yue- _chan_ …it looks like we failed…."

"No," Yue denied with a small smile. "I think we should just be glad that we were able to survive a monster attack of that caliber…."

8-8-8

"Ah, but still, we're going to be last and second-to-last," Erstin sighed as they came slowly flying towards the finish line back in Wind Bloom City, Erstin being carried by Nina and Yue by Arika. "And it's all because of that trick Tomoe- _chan_ pulled on us…it just isn't fair…."

"There's no use complaining about it," Nina grumped dourly. "What's done is done, after all…."

"It's still too bad," Arika agreed. "If we had been able to go to Orimus, we might have gotten your memories back, Yue- _chan_ …."

"Well, I'm sure there will be another opportunity." Somehow, despite this bad news, Yue's small smile had not left all evening. Despite everything, she seemed…very content with the results of their outing.

They started to come in sight of the finish line…and there they saw a huge crowd of spectators still lining the lane, cheering loudly. Standing at the finish line were their Coral sisters, also cheering wildly.

"T-that's…an awfully enthusiastic welcome for the final teams…" Erstin muttered in shock.

They settled down, trying out how they were to cross with all the people in the way. The Corals all gathered around them, yelling and crying excitedly.

"You guys are awesome!"

"I've never heard of any Corals or Pearls taking down a monster like that!"

"Ah…you mean the dragon?" Arika demanded in shock.

Shiho suddenly burst through the crowd and threw her arms around Arika. "Hey! You made it! Everyone's heard the news…the teachers were all keeping track of you, of course…."

"Of course," came a quiet, demure voice, cutting through the babble and swiftly bringing it to a respectful silence. Fumi wheeled Mashiro into view. "The purpose of this test was to determine those who were qualified to serve as a security force for the Festival in general and for our local monarch and his aides in particular. Things were expected to be difficult, so we wanted to determine the most capable among you…for combat, for speed and agility, for intelligence and wisdom. This race was a combination of all those things. Of course, having to battle a powerful dragonkin from the forest is more than sufficient to qualify you as well. Defeating that is more than enough to pass _this_ exam."

"W-whaaaat?" Arika demanded excitedly.

Before she could continue, however, the crowd of gathered HiME once again burst into excited babble, gathering around Nina. "You did it, Nina!"

"That's not the #1 Coral for nothing!"

"You're really amazing, Nina- _san_!"

Nina stared at them, Erstin began to stutter, and Arika grew indignant. "W-wait a minute! Really, it was Yue- _chan_ who defeated the dragon! We couldn't have done anything if not for her!"

"No, it's all right," Yue insisted, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder to quiet her. "We have a reputation as the 'Dunce Duo' after all, and Nina- _san_ _is_ the famous #1 Coral. There's no way they'll believe that we had anything to do with it."

"I-it's not like I want to embarrass Nina- _chan_ , but still…!"

"Well," said Lillie Adean admiringly, "it seems like Nina- _chan_ will be heading out, just as everyone thought…along with Shiho- _chan_ and Irina- _chan_ , who won the actual race, somehow-or-other…."

"Somehow or other?" Shiho said sweetly, turning to the girl.

As Lillie began to wilt before Shiho's deadly sweetness, Nina finally burst out, "Wait a moment!"

Everyone fell silent, and she continued, "You all are mistaken. I was not the one who defeated that dracogriff. Yue Yumemiya was the one responsible for it…it was only because of her that we were able to succeed!" She turned to Mashiro. "Miss Mashiro, she is the one who should be joining your special security team, and not me…."

Mashiro chuckled. "How very noble and honest of you, Nina- _chan_. You are right, Yue- _chan_ was certainly instrumental in your victory, but it doesn't matter…I think you misunderstood me. We originally wanted just two candidates per year, but with these unusual circumstances, we've decided to specially accept all _four_ of our 'dragon-slayers' into the unit. The more truly excellent HiME we have on this team, the better, after all."

Yue, Nina, Arika, Erstin and Irina all stared at the little girl in shock; Shiho maintained a smug expression in the midst of this. Then, excepting only the eternally dour Nina, they all burst into cheers and hugged each other. Even Nina smiled slightly after a moment, even as Arika, Shiho, and Erstin all enthusiastically embraced her. _('Well…I guess all's well that ends well. I could never admit it, but…having friends like these…going together is the best way forward, after all….')_

She turned her head and her expression froze as she caught sight of her father in the crowd, staring at her. A warm smile crossed his lips and he gave her a thumbs-up. Nina smiled softly again and nodded at him.

"Ah, but I think we're forgetting something," Arika said after the commotion had died down some. "Whatever happened…to Tomoe- _chan_? She should have been way ahead of us…."

"Ah, Tomoe- _chan_?" Shiho replied innocently and sweetly. "Whatever are you talking about? Is that someone we know?"

"T-this girl," Irina sighed. "Well, in all honestly, you guys aren't the last teams to arrive…Tomoe- _chan_ and Miya- _chan_ haven't come back yet…."

8-8-8

Out in the desert at the outskirts of Wind Bloom, Miya lay collapsed on the ground, sighing from distress, while the mad-faced Tomoe struggled to advance with the support of the walking stick she had acquired. "D-damn you," she muttered. "Damn you all…I…I w-will have…my revenge!"

Throwing her hands up to declare this dramatic line took the last of her strength, and she finally collapsed to the desert sand herself.

(For those of a particularly soft-hearted nature, do not worry—those silhouettes you see approaching are a pair of the teachers sent out especially to rescue the lost pair. But their revenge will never come….)

F I N

 _Author's Note: Character Introduction: Tomoe Marguerite and Yôko Helene_

 _We're just about done with Yue's chapter…we have one last chapter that will wrap up her and her companions as well as the other scattered parties as they prepare to gather at Orimus. Act 12 will begin with Kain's training to ascend to true hero-level (or whatever you want to call it) and then follow him as he goes to Orimus and his companions begin to arrive in their groups._

 _This Act is a fusion of Yue's magical girl magical world adventure and My-Otome's universe, with a few My-HiME characters and one crazy Shiho Sannomiya thrown in just for good measure. Most of the adventures were originally My-Otome, but this particular one was especially from Negima, preparing the way for Yue to join her friends in Orimus and meet them again, even if she doesn't remember them. It was fairly easy to adapt for the most part._

 _The hardest part was the conflicting magical powers of Otome and the Ariadne Knights. All of Negima's magic was Latin-based chants and Harry Potter magic fused with high-powered effects, as they had to have their wands and all flew on their brooms. Originally, this was a broom-based race. I'm not adverse to flying on brooms—I discussed it a bit back in Act 3. Much of my magic is based, rather than Harry Potter, on GURPS, with optional chants and gestures able to be ignored by those with high skill and a lot of practical spells, and some high-powered anime special effects and mega attack spells thrown in for good measure. And the spell 'Flying Carpet' allows you turn anything you stand on, sit on, or ride on into a flying machine to take you (and possibly passengers) anywhere quickly (Bedknobs and Broomsticks!). Therefore, mages flying on brooms is something that's possible in this world…but such magic is incongruous with the Otome/HiME. However, the other edge is that, while Pearl Robes and more powerful are able to fly, Coral Robes are markedly less powerful due to the fact that they lack the power of flight. And a foot race just has_ no _appeal in these circumstances. So, for this purpose, I introduced (several chapters ago) the idea of them flying on magical MagiTech-engine discs so that they could have a good race combined with interesting combat. Also, except for their more powerful weapon-based attacks (on the Meister Otome Robes), the Otome had only enhancements to their speed and power and had no real magic spells to attack with. However, the idea of all magic-based fighters using some forms of attack spells is a natural idea in this universe, an integral part of it. Luckily, the idea of HiME creating magic circles in the air à la Tales of the Abyss anime and firing spells from them is not an out-there idea, and so the thought that many (most, in fact) HiME rely on that kind of casting combat even more than their natural strength and speed is appealing. Of course, Arika, the dunce girl, is a great fighter but very weak academically and magically (although she's a natural with her mother's Robe powers). So I had to weave these incongruities together._

 _Nina's fandom of Kalan Lockeheart is somewhat incongruous to her original character, but they were somewhat necessary. The_ iinchô _, the girl she is replacing in Yue's universe, is a huge Nagi fan and has girlish dreams of meeting this new gladiator Nagi in Ostia (the original capital city) and him falling in love with her at first sight. That was the main reason for her especial desire to win this contest and go to the city, and of course her rivalry with Yue. Of course, that kind of obsession doesn't fit the daddy-obsessed Nina as much, but having her have a bit of admiration for such a famous hero is neat…but mostly, she has other thoughts about Yue and, especially, Arika. But she's not as much a brat as the_ iinchô _or the original Nina._

 _Originally, Emily_ (iinchô) _and her frustration over Yue and Collette defeating her early on in the race are the reason for the griffin-dragon (called by me dracogriff)'s appearance and attack…she decides to take a shortcut through the forest of monsters and brings it out and into the path of Yue and Collette, where she has to defeat the beast just as I've shown here. In my version, since I have this handy-dandy archvillainness that has made a bit of a mark, she's the one responsible (see below)._

 _And, of course, the somewhat evil-natured Shiho is tired of the devil girl being evil to her friends, and so she took it into her own hands to sabotage Tomoe. As they say, what goes around…._

 _T omoe is the #2 Coral of Garderobe, and is also a hardcore lesbian in desperate love with Shizuru. She acts like a perfect, supportive cheerful girl, but this_ yandere _girl is_ true _evil, unlike the friend-supporting Shiho (although I had fun comparing their masks of good hearts). Because Shizuru was interested in the supposed (and, yes, actual) daughter of the Blue Sky Sapphire, Tomoe resented Arika and her presence and tried all sorts of evil tricks to embarrass, expel, and/or injure or even kill Arika. After the takeover, she finally revealed her true evil nature. Since I'm not going that far, having her do it here at this race for the finish of the Yue arc was perfect. I also had her absorb all or most of the 'bad guy' elements in the stories, so in a way she's the Final Boss of the Act. And because the rest of them are too nice, I had Shiho take care of her in the most appropriate manner possible. Haha!_

 _Y ôko Helene is a character almost identical across My-HiME and My-Otome. The doctor of Fûka and Garderobe, she is a friend of Midori in both incarnations and a rather minor character, but a good support. Her most prominent point here, as it really was in My-Otome as well, was getting our heroine properly Otome'd up (although in that series she later helped get Aswad on the right side, since she was originally from them). Irina gets along well with Yôko too and bribes her into helping her with things by providing rare tech, but I haven't had much a chance to really show any of her friendships since the focus has been on Yue here. Still, they are still existent in this universe, especially her drinking days with Midori. She_ is _just a bit of an alcoholic…._

 _Well, it's about time. Let's get these Side Stories finished up so we can return to our intrepid hero!_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Seven: And Now for Something Completely Different

"Don't hold back," Sargon told the girls. "This is my treat…a thank you for taking care of Nii-na- _chan_ , and congratulations for your recent victory!"

The girls raised their glasses and cheered, Nina with her usual forced dourness and Yue with her usual stoic calm. She mostly ignored her food, good as it was, and instead glanced down at the card in her hands, finally officially returned to her now that Arika had remembered it. Her picture was there on it, plainly, with all its rather random information. _('The name on the back of this card says that I'm the disciple of 'Kain Lockeheart', and not 'Kalan Lockeheart'. What does that mean…?')_

They had a great feast at the castle with the king and even were put up for the night in the castle, living in the lap of luxury. Nina had her usual room in the castle and Erstin had one as well, while the other four were put up in a large guest room together (despite Arika saying she wanted to have a sleepover with Nina in her room).

Finally, Yue took the plunge and asked Shiho if she could read anything about her card, gain any more information about it. She took it in her hand and focused on, cupping her other hand over its surface to better coordinate her power and thoughts. "Most of it you already know: how it works, summoning its artifact, and provides a conduit to additional magical power to boost your abilities. The master can cast spells on you through it, communicate with you telepathically, and even teleport you to him, although the range is only 5-10 kilometers for those features. The name of the master is 'Kain Lockeheart', although I can't read anything else about him from _this_ card…he should have a copy, which would be a different story. And…you made this contract through a _powerful_ magic ritual, which includes a _kiss_ with the master in question…on the lips…." Yue reddened and stuttered at this insistence while Irina and Arika stared in shock and awe. "The contract was also empowered through an intermediary of power…a…magical spirit…its name…Kamolai…? Ah!"

Shiho suddenly screamed and her face went blank. Inside her mind, she suddenly found herself, in glorious spiritual Japanese nudity, in a sea of stars and magical energy. A formless mass of light wove through the air around her. _"Well, well, well,"_ it said. _"Who is this_ ojô-chan _that's peaking into my magical contracts? Hmm…this is Yuecchi's place, isn't it? I assume you're her friend…?"_

"T-that's right…are you…Kamolai…?"

 _"You got it…you're an intriguing girl yourself. I felt Yuecchi calling on her power, finally…I won't ask about what you've been through, I'm sure she can explain it all when she joins up with us again. Tell me, does she know about Orimus…?"_

"Oh…." Gaining confidence in this conversational universe, Shiho actually smiled coyly as she began to piece things together. "You're talking about the invitation that mysterious 'Kalan Lockeheart' made to certain individuals, right? It's mostly just a coincidence, but it seems we're heading there…Yue- _chan_ too…so, what can you tell me about yourself and the mysterious 'Kain Lockeheart'…?"

 _"Ah? Something still seems wrong with what you're saying there…well, we all have secrets. If Yuecchi can't tell you any specifics right now, I shouldn't either. But as long as she'll get there, that's enough…we'll find her if the time is right…you take care of her, you hear…?"_

And the world vanished, and Shiho was back in her body, holding the card in front of her and recovering from her stun. "Shiho _-chan_! Are you all right?" Arika demanded. "You were...like, possessed or something!"

"N-no, I'm fine," Shiho replied cheerfully. "I just…learned more than I thought. I can't tell you anything else right now, but it seems that this 'Kain Lockeheart' might actually be waiting for you in Orimus…Yuecchi," she finished teasingly, handing the card back to her.

"Y-Yuecchi?" Yue stuttered as she took it back. "W-why did you call me that?"

"I don't know…does it mean something to you?"

Yue considered this, frowning, carefully thinking, but then shook her head. "No. It's still blank. It just feels…important…."

8-8-8

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you all this time," Mashiro apologized as she handed the papers around the table. "I know some of you have been very curious as to the plans I've been making. With the Memorial Festival in Orimus on the horizon, we need to be fully prepared…I kept it quiet partially to protect all of you, but now, knowledge, and not ignorance, is going to be necessary to protect ourselves.

The four other pillars perused the documents. It was a very succinct and well-documented report of the significant events of the past year, from a variety of different sources. Some of the information was particularly surprising or interesting to the HiME.

"Look at this," Midori pointed out with a chuckle. "It looks like your long-lost brother finally made a mark for himself, MK, winning that big tournament in Mahora over the summer. So, he's been in hiding there all this time…?"

"'Confined', it says here," MK muttered. "Anyway, I was still a little girl when he disappeared. What does that matter? It wouldn't kill him to write home every once in a while…if he could get out enough to do that, he should have been able to send out a letter or something…."

"Ah, the bitter little sister rears her head," Shizuru teased. "Well, this does explain things rather nicely. I'm almost surprised the 'Obsidian Star' is keeping out of our little corner of the world with all these other things going on."

"I'm certainly glad they did," Natsuki muttered. "We've had enough problems with demons and dragons and wayward students. We couldn't have handled the Obsidian Star on top of it…."

"But now we'll have to." MK looked up at Mashiro. "Did you…arrange for Yue- _chan_ to join us for Orimus? I mean, it must have been your intention all along…."

"I was certainly hoping she would succeed," Mashiro replied easily. "I can't foresee every little action by our students, however. It is true, I did qualify her when she didn't win, but remember that I had you vote to allow it before they arrived…the Five Pillars agreed together that the action was worthy of such special recognition, and, believe what you will, I would have extended the same reward to any other girls that managed such a feat."

"Right. Sorry if it sounded like I was accusing you…."

"So who's actually responsible for this frame-up on the Kain kid?" Midori demanded. "You don't have that here…."

"That's not our responsibility…it doesn't matter to us. It's an inconvenience to Kain and his students, but the far greater problem is the Obsidian Star. Now is not the time to cause unrest between the nations with those kinds of accusations. We just have to do our best to keep everything quiet and peaceful."

"But we need to be prepared in case something goes wrong," Mary-Katherin pointed out. "We should be prepared to take the criminals 'into custody'…."

"Agreed. Most of that Avalon will handle, but we should be ready to do what we can, too…especially since, as a neutral force, we are leading the security detail for the Festival." She smiled and put a hand on the papers in front of her. "And here are the most important details for that security…."

8-8-8

" _Ketsu_!"

The monster dodged back from the blue cube. The purple-clad Yoshimori and the white-clad Tokine leapt forward, their left hands holding their staves and their right hands making their hand signs. The demon backed away from them. "To be quarried by human whelps such as these," it rasped. "Oh, how I have fallen…but at least I'll take one of you with me…!" It opened its mouth and began to charge energy….

And then an energy-lined arrow flew in from the side, impacting its lip and causing the building energy to detonate. "Gotcha!" Kagome enthused.

Cursing, the demon turned and began to sprint away at top speed. "Inuyasha!" Kagome called out.

"I know," the dog-demon grumped, stepping into the enemy's path.

It stared at him. "Not even a lesser _yôkai_ , but a mere half-demon now stands against me!? Weak though I am, I am still _mazoku_!"

It leapt at Inuyasha, and Inuyasha leapt in reply. A slice of his massive sword separated the demon's head from its body and it collapsed in its two parts, lifeless, on the ground.

Inuyasha turned back to it and rested his sword on his shoulder as the others came hurrying over. "Yeah…weak all right." He stared at the corpse. "Just as the elder said…it's been separated from its own world so long its body has pretty much become a part of Arcanus Myrror. It's not dissolving away like _mazoku_ normally do."

"We need to bring back its head as proof, right?" Yoshimori asked. "Jeez, what a messy business…."

"We'll bring the head as we were asked, but we can't leave the body," Tokine added. "It'll become a poison over the land…or worse. _Ketsu_! _Metsu_!" Her spell surrounded and destroyed the demon's body, and she then followed by holding her staff up and sucking the remnants through the void that formed in her staff's circle.

"Still, this land seems to have an awful lot of demons…not just _yôkai_ , but a lot of _mazoku_!" Shippô noted from Kagome's shoulder.

"Well, it's no great surprise," Myôga noted from Kagome's other shoulder. "Orimus is the ancient capital of the Takiva Empire, the land that ruled nearly all the humans of this world for thousands of years. It is an eternal testament to their magical prowess: an entire floating city, hovering above all other lands and accessible only by flight magic, flying creatures, or airships. During the war twenty years ago, the Obsidian Star was based in Orimus, and in the aftermath of their defeat, a magical catastrophe destroyed the city. It's only been the last few years that it's been able to be inhabited again."

"Well, it's made it easier for us to pass the time and earn a living before heading in," Inuyasha noted, picking up the demon's great ugly head. "Let's head back. I don't care too much about your human comforts, but I'd rather not keep this thing around any longer than necessary. After all, there's still that other one to deal with…"

They made it back to the town, where they were greeted with enthusiasm by the mixed-race townsfolk, who loudly and excitedly proclaimed their amazement over their success.

"It's nothing, really," Kagome tried to assure them for the fifth time. "But, um, we have to go after the other monster now, right?"

"Oh, that's no worry!" insisted one neocolom woman. "That one's been taken care of already by that other mercenary group."

"That other mercenary group?" Yoshimori asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah!" added a human man. "They didn't look like much, but they went and did it! Those little girls are strong, despite being such little cuties…and that guy with them is one lucky stiff, being surrounded by them, that's for sure."

"Little cuties…surrounding one guy?" Kagome sighed and gave an exasperated smile as Inuyasha, not really caring, unceremoniously dumped the head on top of the approaching magistrate. "That sounds…suspiciously familiar…."

But despite her memories of her classmates surrounding her teacher, she wasn't really prepared for the scene before her as the crowd parted and 'those other mercenaries' came into view. They were chattering amongst themselves happily—largely the two red-headed girls in the lead—until they caught sight of Kagome. They stared in shock. Kagome stared back in shock. It had been over two months since they had last seen each other, but, somehow, as the scene played out before her, Kagome could have sworn that it had been so much longer….

"Mai!"

"Kagome!"

The pair went running together and embraced. After a long moment they withdrew and began chattering excitedly to each other. Their companions looked on in bemusement.

"I can't believe it! You're here! You're really here!" Kagome said. "Mai! It's really you!"

"Kagome!" Mai laughed. "You're all right! I was so worried about you…."

"I'm fine! I'm fine! More importantly, you…." Kagome stopped and moved to glance past Mai. "Oh, and Hina! It's good to see you, too! Thank you for watching over Mai for me!"

"Of course," Hinagiku murmured, stepping forward. "It's good to see you, Kagome- _san_. With this, the first three members of the White Wings are gathered together!"

Kajirô sighed somewhat in relief, a smile on his face, and walked past the conversing girls to the figures standing behind her. "Good to see you again, Yukimura- _san_ , Sumimura- _san_...it seems you accomplished your mission perfectly." Then he turned to Inuyasha, who was now carrying Shippô and Myôga on his shoulders (what with them falling off in Kagome's enthusiasm before). "And you…must be companions of Higurashi- _san_ …?"

"Ah!" Kagome broke off guiltily and tried to compose herself. "M-my manners…where are they? This is Inuyasha, who is…well, he's been my bodyguard since I arrived here in the magical world. And this is Shippô- _chan_ , and Myôga- _jii-san_! And these are my friends..."

"I'm Tokiha Mai…."

"Katsura Hinagiku. Thank you for taking care of our Kagome- _san_ …."

"I…am Saginomiya Isumi."

"Ah, and let me guess!" Shippô burst out, pointing at Kajirô. "You must be that Kain- _sensei_ Kagome is always talking about, right?"

The teenagers, all, stared at Shippô for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. "M-me? The famous Kain Lockeheart- _sensei_?" Kajirô managed. "Perish the thought! No, I am just a humble magic swordsman, from the same academy as Higurashi- _san_ , but a simple student nonetheless. I am Tsukai Kajirô." He bowed.

Inuyasha grunted, the closest he could come to a civil greeting, but Shippô attempted to be properly polite. Myôga attempted to discuss Kajirô's prominent family name, but he declined any mention of it. Hinagiku addressed herself to Inuyasha and Shippô. "So, you are neocolom? No, no… _yôkai_ …I can tell by the energy of your aura." She sighed. "Really, how far I've come along…it's almost depressing that I'm so deeply involved in something so illogical that it's becoming second-nature to me…."

"I know the feeling," Mai agreed with a laugh. "Magical princess or no, it seems I can't get totally used to it, still…at the risk of sounding like Chisame- _chan_ , I _do_ miss our normal middle school days on Earth…."

"Well, never mind that!" Kagome insisted, throwing her arms around her classmates. "We're here together now, aren't we? We're one step closer to getting home! Now, next stop is Orimus…and Kain- _sensei_!"

8-8-8

Jade finished typing away at the computer. "Well, there we are. The _El-Hazard_ is now a registered airship in the Grandall Empire, so your papers will allow you travel without any legal requirements. Since I used the name of the Tôsaka family, she won't be bothered much, either."

"Hmm," Rin murmured cheerfully. "My very own airship, eh? Well, it's maybe a little small, but it does have plenty of amenities…."

"Wait a minute!" Nanami contested hotly. "I don't care what the legal papers have to say, this is my ship, my artifact I got from my contract with Kain- _sensei_! You can't claim it just because I'm a wrongfully-accused wanted criminal!"

"Ah, but if it wasn't for my name, your wrongfully-accused ship wouldn't be able to make port in Orimus. What would you and your friends do without my help…?"

"Just using your name isn't enough to make me thank you. And remember, this ship is _my artifact_. It has all sorts of things it can do _at my command_. Would you like to take a walk outside…?"

"Threatening a mage of the Tôsaka family is dangerous business. Would you like to see your precious ship go up in flames…?"

As the two hotheads argued, Archer looked on in bemusement. Jade had already quitted the conversation and was speaking with Ami and Overcast. "That's one problem solved. It seems the Obsidian Star was withdrawn for now…from the information I received from Grand Chokma in that last communiqué, there were a few bizarre incidents about the same time we were being hunted, but now everything's gone quiet. It's unthinkable that they've given up their schemes…that must mean that they're preparing for something."

"Likely…the Memorial Festival," Ami replied. "Does that mean they have some purpose in Orimus? Perhaps they need the last gate there, just like we do? Or do they plan on doing something somewhere else in the world while the nations are all focused on the Festival?"

"Likely the former," Overcast replied. "Their power was secretly focused in Orimus throughout the last war. They probably need the old capital, somehow."

"That is the most likely outcome." Jade pushed at his glasses. "Whether or not it was your intention, your group will likely have to go through the Obsidian Star in order to return to Earth. From the looks of their collection, they have already recovered a veritable army…you'll need one of your own to counter them. Fortunately for you, it seems like you will have one…."

Ami looked at the Colonel in surprise. Overcast continued, "His last message was suitably cryptic, but the truth is that Emperor Peony and nearly all the major leaders of the nations in this world owe everything to Kalan Lockeheart and his Red Wings. His Majesty has been in contact with some of them quite secretly, and they're planning on clandestine meetings and the like. At the very least, you'll be able to count on some support from Grandall, Halteese, Avalon and Garderobe Academy…unofficially, of course, since you are wanted criminals."

Jade glanced over. Somewhat to his disappointment, Nanami and Rin seemed to have come to an understanding. The others were…scattered about the ship, discussing their youthful concerns. The _senpai_ to them all, Rei, stood in a corner, stoically watching as was her want….

"Well, for now, his Majesty wants us to stick with you," Jade explained. "We haven't collected all your companions yet, but it seems most are close to Orimus. I suppose all that's left is to meet up with your teacher there, yes?"

"I-I guess so…."

"Waiting and watching," Overcast said with a smile. "I must admit, I don't mind the extended vacation we've had with you all." He turned and started up the ship. "But, so that I don't act like a slacker in front of my superior officer, I should get to looking like I'm working. I'll do a round and make sure that the rest of the kids aren't up to too much mischief…."

As he ascended towards the bridge, he passed by a crowd in the hallway. Akari, Kiami, Delryn and Mei were talking happily with the three newest pick-ups, Hikaru Tsukino, the barbarian Minsc, and the elf Aerie. Right now, they were discussing….

"So, you're not in the official tournament yet?" Akari asked Delryn in surprise.

"Not yet," Delryn affirmed. "No one is, technically. There's a preliminary round the first day of the Memorial Festival before the tournament proper. They use it to really gauge the combatants' abilities and get them seeded. There are 128 fighters in the preliminaries—about 50 are accepted from the tournaments around the world, like the one your _sensei_ is trying to win. About fifty more are experienced fighters, either veterans of the tournament or famous fighters and mages around the world who are given invitations to the tournament preliminaries. The final spots are rounded out by individuals who come forward and present a case for their participation…I'm going that route myself." He sighed. "I hate to admit it, but to earn a place in that tournament, the card 'son of one of the legendary heroes' is the kind of gimmick you need…."

"Even so, those last spots still have to be filled by remarkable individuals, even if they're seeking to go in by themselves!" Mei enthused. "Some amazing people have participated in the tournament before…usually at least one Knight of the Round each year, BattleMages of Dalkia, even HiME on occasion! They are all amazing people!"

"You said the preliminaries handle 'seeding'," Hikaru murmured. "So your efforts are ranked?"

"That's right. It's not a point system, per se, but a conglomerate score awarded by a team of judges, based on their own tastes—fame and reputation mean more to some, some are impressed by lopsided battles, others pay more attention to the strength of the opponent overcome or other such things, so it ends up being a pretty fair estimate overall. The fighter who emerges from the preliminaries with the highest overall score is the top seed, and so on all the way down to the lowest-ranked fighter, who is the #64 seed. The tournament is then organized like any seeded tournament—the first seed competes in the first around against #64, with seeds #2 and #3 in the opposite bracket, with, all high seeds advancing, 2 will face 3 and 1 will face 4 in the Final Four."

"Hmm, as you say, a standard seeded bracket, like the NCAA Tournament," Kiami put in.

Everyone turned to stare at her in shock. "What?" she said mildly, smiling slightly. "I can appreciate some American entertainment, too…."

"Ah, a grand battle of steel and will!" Minsc sighed, with longing. "It sounds like a marvelous enterprise! Unfortunately, while our might would allow us to compete, our own reputations are yet too small to let us enter such a weighty gathering of heroes! Boo says that we must perform many heroic deeds and defeat many evil villains before we will be so well known…."

"Well, that's what worked for my father," Delryn agreed with a smile. "If you're helping them with all this Obsidian Star stuff, you'll probably have the opportunity. You and your 'witch' might get a pretty good reputation if this blows into anything like the last war…."

"But…you sound like you aren't involved," Akari remarked. "Aren't you going to help us out…?"

"I went adventuring with you, and I agreed not to worry about your bounties," Delryn smirked. "But saving the world…that kinda thing isn't really my style, not without a good reason. We'll see how it goes, but I won't make promises…right now, winning the tournament is taking all my attention. However…as I said before…I'm easy to persuade…and, of course, if I remember it correctly, then technically you _do_ still owe me a kiss of your own…."

Overcast smiled slightly and passed on, leaving the kids to their teenage shenanigans.

He entered the bridge and saw Kazumi and Tear standing by the forward window. He paused slightly and considered them…they seemed to be an odd pair….

"I-is it troubling you, _Senpai_?" As Tear looked at her in surprise, Kazumi continued, "That man…your older brother…he's…with the enemy…."

Tear smiled sadly. "…Yes. It's very troubling. I thought him dead for ten years. For him to return now, and like this, hardly seeming to be anything like my brother anymore…." She shook her head. "No. That's not the worst of it. The worst of it is…even that young, that long ago, I _did_ see it in him. He talked with pride about our family's legacy, about the work we did as retainers of the royal family of Kanev. Our family was almost as old as the Takiva Empire itself, one of the few that remained when it fell and the Kingdom of Kanev arose from the ashes. And he always ended his stories by bitterly talking about the 'traitors' that destroyed the kingdom, that let it die and then tried to erase all signs that it had ever been. In order to punish those he blames…in order to restore that lost kingdom…yes, my brother would be willing to do…anything….

"And he was the only family I had, he was almost more like a father than a big brother to me. I worshipped him, and even after all this time, the memories of him are clear in my mind and heart. But I know that, somehow or other, I will have to face him…and, for the sake of both worlds, defeat him…."

She glanced over at her _kohai_. "But what about you, Yoshida- _san_? I'm quite surprised that you're here. Well, I know (and understand, after everything you've explained) how you and others of your normally nonmagical classmates were pulled into our world because of various unfortunate circumstances, but you especially seem like…someone who doesn't really fit in with it…."

Kazumi actually giggled, somewhat sadly. "Yes, I…hear that a lot. I've thought about it a lot. You…probably know the reason why…probably everyone does, even him, although they're kind enough not to talk about it much. But…more than that…no, especially because, after all I've seen, I can't stand the thought of running away and just letting it be 'someone else's problem'. You may not think I belong, Tear- _senpai_ , but they've accepted me. I think of my family, happy at home, my mother and father and little brother…and when I think of Kain- _sensei_ , and you, and Hina- _chan_ , and Kenjirô- _kun_ , and others who have never had that…I feel ashamed. Maybe I'd be forgiven for running away from it all and returning to that happy, carefree, unsullied life…but I'd never forgive myself."

"Well said, _Ojô-chan_ ," murmured Overcast, finally making his presence known. "You all are quite remarkable girls…I'm not that much older than you, and I've always been impressed with my own abilities, but your conviction at such a young age baffles me. I haven't met this 'Kain- _sensei_ ' yet, but it seems he's remarkably blessed to be surrounded by so many exceptional ladies."

Kazumi blushed but smiled. "T-thank you. Although they all seem more wonderful than me, I-I appreciate your words." She turned back to gaze out the window again, wistfully. "Kain- _sensei_ …I wonder how he's doing right now…."

8-8-8

Natsu stood panting, staring up at Erza. Erza, her arms folded in front of her, smiled at him coldly. "What is it, Natsu? Is that all you've got? You'll never make it in the tournament like that, you know."

Natsu smiled around his fatigue. "I've got a whole lot more than that, you know! Just watch me!"

"It still seems unfair that Natsu's the only one who gets to compete," Grey grumbled, not for the first time. "He's not even an S-class mage…what makes him so special?"

"Well, the 'Dragonslayer of Fiore's #1 Guild, Fairy Tail', 'Natsu the Salamander', is certainly a famous enough mage," Lucy replied nonchalantly. "He's the kind of idiotic person who's good for a senseless brawl like this. But they probably can't fit in more than one Fairy Tail mage in the tournament proper, considering that Fiore is still a small country, despite its famous guilds. And _you_ certainly can't compete, Grey…even if there are no real rules, you'd probably get disqualified for stripping during your first match."

"Aye!" agreed Happy.

"E-Erza- _san_ seems really intense…" Nodoka murmured.

"Ah, well, she seems to have some sort of plan in mind," Happy replied, taking a turn to narrate a little more than his usual 'Aye!' "I don't know what it is, because she'd probably do a better job in the tournament than Natsu, since she beats him up all the time whenever they fight. But having a Fairy Tail mage in the tournament will be good for our guild, especially if they do well…and so Erza won't let Natsu lose and embarrass our guild!"

"Well, there's not much time left," Lucy noted. "Another few weeks and the Festival starts. And we should get you reunited with the rest of your friends then, Nodoka- _chan_. Are you excited?"

"Y-yes," Nodoka agreed hesitantly. _('It's true…especially, I know, I'll be overjoyed to see…Kain-_ sensei _again…but…although the last message said they'd found most of them, I haven't heard anything about Yue…I'm worried….')_

 _"_ There's nothing to worry about," Grey said suddenly, as if he were the mind-reader. "They're your friends, and you all trained really hard to deal with just these situations, right? All you can do is have trust with them. And remember," the man actually smiled and posed, winking at her and pointing a thumb at his chest. "We're your _nakama_ now, and that means your friends are our friends…and the guild will bust all the laws of Arcanus Myrror to save its friends!"

Nodoka smiled slightly. "Y-yes, Grey- _san_ , you're right…thank you…."

8-8-8

Lina glanced around at the various passages, scratching her head. She sighed and shook it. "These tunnels are hopeless. Damn that Xellos. 'Oh, it's a nice, safe, secret way into Orimus', he says. Yeah, right. He's playing one of his games…."

"I never wanted to trust him," Zelgadis growled. "What's he done, abandoned us in this labyrinth to die? That damn bastard…."

"No, nothing like that," Lina denied. "He's an Infernal, but he's on our side…he's had any number of opportunities, good ones, to prove otherwise. He has some _purpose_ , or some _ultimatum_ in leading us down these tunnels, and it may or may not also be beneficial to us. But I doubt he's planned anything so boring as us dying down here. All we can do is press forward…."

"Well, whatever," Gourry said. "I just hope we can find a burger there…it's almost dinner time, and I'm starving…."

"Gourry, we're underground in a _labyrinth_ ," Lina sighed. "There are no burger joints or any other kinds of restaurants here…."

"No, but there is, see? Right there."

He pointed. Sure enough, there was a magical neon sign over a door with windows showing an eating establishment of some kind some distance off to the left. A large ogre stood at attention at the door with a club in his hands, apparently acting as a bouncer.

Lina and Zelgadis stared daggers at it. " _Where_ did Xellos take us?" Lina murmured. "There's definitely something not quite right about this place…."

"Well, whatever," Zelgadis said, starting towards the establishment. "Right now, I can hardly care. This may very well be some kind of ridiculous dungeon trap or elaborate illusion, but if we have to wander in this crazy labyrinth any longer, I'd rather risk it. Let's at least see if we can get some decent food and drink."

"I guess I'm with ya there…I hardly care whether it blows up in our faces or not. In any case, we're still a long way from Orimus…."

 _('But we'll all get there,')_ she thought. _('Kain, Yue, Nodoka, Ami, Mai, all of you…don't you worry. Lina Inverse, the great sorceress, will make sure you all get home safely, no matter what!')_

F I N

 _Author's Note: Side Stories Concluded!_

 _Well, the REAL 'Side Stories' technically concluded a while ago, but really my obligatory scattered party episodes do pretty much qualify as additional side stories. Three whole Acts worth…even if this does turn out to be about the smallest Act yet._

 _But it's okay. I thought I might do a few more Otome storylines, possibly involving some of the beloved side characters like Akane, maybe have some Irina invention hijinx and stuff, Yôko and Midori drinking and maybe even come up with a few more things for my beloved MK to do, but this was honestly enough…as some of my regular faithful readers noted, there is only so much HiME/Otome fluff you can take in a row, and while the exciting field trip and race should have made it more exciting and bearable, that's enough of a focus on_ very _flighty fourteen-year-old girls with no strong male presence to mellow them out and make up for their shenanigans. Already, by not really sharing her Act with anyone Yue has the largest adventure path of anyone scattered from Kain's party, and the only reason this is 'fair' is because a) with amnesia she's far more a duck out of water (although, really, remarkable well-adjusted to the alien position), and b) she won't show up again for any appreciable amount of time (excepting, of course, only a few cameos) until much later, like Act 14 or so. So, here, with the race, she's finally made her mark and had her starring storyline._

 _And I ended with tying up the loose ends of various groups heading for Orimus—most are aboard Nanami's ship, Mai and Kagome were finally reunited, and Lina will have an excuse for her late arrival (end spoiler). More will be told then (although only in vague reference) to what she's involved in, and largely it's going to lampoon/lampshade references to some of my favorite/least favorite dungeon-crawling experiences and tropes. So enough of that for now._

 _I guess I should actually introduce an important HiME from this Act that didn't get any intro because she isn't a real preexisting character: Mary-Katherin Black, a unique character I based off my own beloved younger sister. She is my first and only sister to appear thus far in my story, but, like Overcast, it's not because of preference or anything of the sort but just…kind of fitting in. That's the real reason Overcast was delayed as long as he was—I'm seen some of my friend's 'primary' character idea, but it's not as strong an image in my mind as the mage Jynx Black or the archaeologist Aiden (and the renegade paladin Delryn, but Aiden fit the genre better as the 'primary' one here). My other two sisters have some potentials, but not characters I can imagine fitting as well and easily as MK did (my older sister has what is definitely the most 'prominent' character in my mind of them all, considering the years we spent making stories of our super-characters together, but that super-character simply does not fit into this story at all, as she is the kind of character who would take over this story and world and save it, et al, or she would just not live up to her billing at all at all). I would like to sometime bring in pseudo-versions of them if I can, if nothing else, or their characters or whatever, but we'll see if (like with Overcast) a palpable opportunity presents itself._

 _In any case, Mary-Katherin Black: based on my sister's WoW character, to a degree, and she was based on her Amtgard persona, a not-quite-holy priestess who has a measure of wisdom and such but who often…falls victim to her frailties (far more than my sister actually does). I, myself, did not involve myself in Eric's beloved Amtgard community at all, and so I never really saw Tina as MK there, but from the impressions I got, she was a rather…well, shall we say, the kind of cleric that made you say, 'Are you_ sure _you're a holy woman'? This impression was intensified by the fact that she was primarily a Shadow Priest in WoW. Of course, this Mary-Katherin is a girl shaped by her environment more. Raised as a skilled and proper HiME, appointed one of Garderobe's great Pillars, she strives to be one of the governors and keep her charges in line. Like my sister she is kind, and, despite the fact that she can be dark, she doesn't appreciate Shiho's love for bloody and scary criminal cases. But she tries to be a good example, role-model, leader, and friend to those around her. She uses a HiME Robe of her/my make, focusing on her birthstone (her favorite birthstone, as June has several), Moonstone. She's been fun to have in. Oh, and as I alluded to in this chapter…as she was a 'black' priest, Tina gave her last name, semi-jokingly, as Black, so I decided to keep that here. But I already have a character named Black: Jynx, of course. Well, it's not like Black is a super-rare kind of name, but I was thinking about it, and decided: why not? If they have the same name, they can ironically be siblings…ironic because in this universe Kain, and not Allen, becomes the only child, and Eric has always been so close to our family that he considered my sisters his anyway. As suggested here, MK semi-resents her brother because he was always running off trying to be a hero, but if they ever meet again…well, I believe in happy endings and all, and familial love will win out._

 _Anyhow, we're done here…time to get back to Kain and find out about him dying…or not…._


End file.
